Persona Magi Madoka Magica
by Harouki
Summary: Narukami Yuu, age 15, is about to start a new life in the town of Mitakihara. However, in a twist of fate, the world seems to react to him a little earlier than he would have liked as he soon finds himself involved in a world of Shadows. On the other side of the coin, one girl trapped in an eternal loop will see an end to her nightmare.
1. Chapter 1: A New Life

AN: Harouki plays spell card: Inspiration! Effect: Summon two new fics onto the field for readers' delight.

* * *

_**Persona Magi Madoka Magica**_

* * *

**Chapter 1: A New Life**

* * *

**Wednesday, September 16****th****: Raining**

A familiar white ceiling lies over Akemi Homura once again. The familiar hospital room. The familiar awakening after a familiar failure. A total failure this time.

She hadn't even made it to Walpurgis Night but instead missed the timing of Sayaka's transformation and Madoka had been killed while attempting to calm down Sayaka's Witch. It seemed like with each new loop, it became more and more difficult to save Madoka. But she'll try again. No matter how many times it will take, she'll just keep on trying until she finds a way to save her.

But first, she needed to repair her eyes and heart and get discharged from the hospital.

Throwing off the blanket she looked down at her hand and blinked. It was empty.

"My...Soul Gem?"

Her hand was completely empty. No purple colored gem of alien origin or ring was on it.

Homura quickly sat up, grabbed her glasses and searched the entire room, but found no trace of the alien gem. Finally, after an hour of searching, she simply walked out of her room, measuring the approximate distance with each step until she was a hundred meters from her room. She took a deep breath and took one more step forward.

Nothing.

She simply stood there and stared dumbly at the wall in front of her.

"What is going on?"

* * *

**Previous Day  
**

* * *

**Saturday, April 4****th****:****Cloudy**

Kaname Madoka sat up on her bed and looked around her room. Her short pink hair was extremely messy due to her tossing and turning from the strange dream she had last night.

She was with a girl with red hair calling out towards some strange monster wielding swords while a girl with black hair tried to pull her away, only to wake up just as a strange wheel ran her over.

"Uuu...it's so scary dying in a dream..." she moaned. She slowly got up and headed out of her room to wake up her mother. On the way, she passed by the garden and spotted her father outside, harvesting some cherry tomatoes. "Good morning, Papa."

"Good morning, Madoka," Kaname Tomohisa replied.

"Where's Mama?"

"I think I saw Tatsuya go and wake her up. You should give him a hand. We need to go pick up your cousin after all."

"Cousin?" Madoka asked as she tilted her head. "Oh right, it was today wasn't it?"

"Right, so make sure your mother is awake."

"Okay!"

She quickly ran to her mother's room and threw the door open, noting that her little brother, Tatsuya, was sitting on the general area where her mother's head was supposed to be. Walking around the bed towards the large windows, she pulled the curtains open and grabbed the blanket.

"Rise and shine!" she shouted, yanking the blanket off, causing her mother to scream in shock as the sun blinded her before sitting up in confusion.

"Mama's awake!" Tatsuya said happily.

* * *

"Hey, Mama," Madoka said as she at breakfast with her family. "What kind of person is my cousin? I don't really remember them."

"Hmm, well to be honest I don't know much myself," Kaname Junko replied. "I haven't talked to my brother for a while but that doesn't mean we can't take care of his kid for a while. All I really know is that he's around your age as he'll be going to your school. Though the last time I saw him he was around Tatsuya's age. Oh right, they did send a picture...now where did I...aha!"

Junko fished a small photograph from her purse and passed it over to Madoka. Madoka took the picture and looked at it. A teenage boy with silver hair and eyes was standing there, staring absentmindedly at the camera with an expression that could only be described as bored.

"He doesn't look very friendly," Madoka noted.

"Now don't say that," Junko said. "Not very many boys enjoy taking pictures after all."

"Picture! Picture!" Tatsuya called out from his high chair.

"Well, after a certain age anyway. In any case, please try meeting him first before you make any assumptions about him."

"Okay. What time does his train come in?"

"Oh? I think it was about...oh no! We're going to be late!"

"Eh?"

"His train comes in half an hour! We need to leave now!"

"Ah, right! Bye, Papa! Bye Tastuya!"

"Have a safe trip," Tomohisa said as the two of them left.

* * *

"_Be sure to carry something to do on your way to Mitakihara,_" his father had told him. "_Knowing my sister, she'll be around half an hour to an hour late to come get you._"

A boy in a black trench coat with a red scarf around his face sighed as he sat on the bench at the train station with his backpack off to the side next to him. The rest of his luggage had already been sent ahead to his aunt's house. Like his father had predicted, his aunt was late. At least he had a book and an mp3 player to listen to while he waited. The book was a volume from The Man's Life series called "A Great Man." A personal favorite of his.

Every chapter begins: "All men are born with the great spirit of masculinity within themselves. The spirit of true manhood transcends space and time and all people of all genders feel its call." Every time he reads a bit of the series he always feels more like a real man and feels just a tiny bit braver.

With a satisfied smile, he placed his bookmark at a good stopping point and closed the book with a sigh as he thought about why he was here in the first place.

Once again, his parents' jobs had them working overseas, leaving him with some relatives so he could continue with school. This was probably the fifth time too. He didn't have that many friends, due to the fact that he was always on the move and felt little need to make commitments. So he preferred to spend his free time reading and making origami cranes. That was probably why he was always at the top of his class in grades.

Sighing again, he switched the song on his mp3 player and closed his eyes to enjoy the music.

* * *

"Welcome...to the Velvet Room."

The boy's eyes snapped open at the sound of an old and creepy voice. He suddenly found himself in what appears to be a limousine with a man with an extremely long crooked nose who was wearing a black suit in front of him as well as a woman with pale hair and golden eyes wearing what looked like a blue attendant's uniform.

"Who..." he began but the old man spoke, cutting him off.

"Ahh...it seems we have a guest who has arrived just a little bit early," the old man chuckled. "But no matter. Allow me to introduce myself...I, am Igor. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future. Now...why don't you introduce yourself? It's only polite."

"Narukami...Yuu," the boy replied before adding with a small bow. "Nice to meet you."

"Hmm...I see," Igor nodded. "Now, let's take a look at your future."

He held a hand up and a stack of cards appeared on the table in front of them.

"Do you believe in fortune telling?"

"A bit."

Igor nodded again as he swept his hand over the stack, making the cards move outward in six different points, leaving a single card in the center.

"It's an interesting thing isn't it? Fortune telling that is," Igor asked. "Each reading is done with the same cards, and yet, each result is different each time. Life itself follows the same principles doesn't it, Narukami Yuu?"

Igor flipped the card closest to Yuu's right hand over, showing the image of a tower that has been struck by a bolt of lighting.

"Hmm," Igor mumbled. "The Tower is in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent. And the card indicating the future beyond that is..."

He flipped the card to Yuu's left over this time.

"The Moon, in the upright position, representing hesitation and mystery...how very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination and a great mystery will be imposed upon you during your stay."

Igor then turned his head up towards Yuu before speaking again.

"In the coming days, you will enter into a...contract of sorts, after which you will return here. The coming years will be a turning point in your destiny. If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost. But have no fear, for my duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that your future remains yours."

"I see..." Yuu replied, not really understanding it at all. He then turned his eyes towards the golden eyed woman beside the man. "And she is...?"

"Ahh, I've seem to have neglected to introduce my assistant to you," Igor said. "This is Margaret. She is resident of this place like myself."

"My name is Margaret," the woman repeated. "I am here to accompany you on your journey."

"But those details are for another time," Igor said. "Until then...farewell..."

* * *

Yuu's eyes shot open as he noticed two people standing over him. A woman and a girl.

"Umm...are you Yuu-kun?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Yuu replied, deciding to force that weird dream from his mind for the moment. "Are you Junko-baa-san?"

The woman flinched at Yuu's words, causing him to blink in confusion. Did he get that wrong?

"Y-yes...I am your aunt," she replied, gritting her teeth. "But please just call me Junko...it makes me feel old."

"Okay...?" Yuu replied, not quite understanding how it made her feel old. Instead he turned to the girl next to Junko. "Then you are my cousin...Madoka, right?"

"Yes," the pink haired girl replied. "Kaname Madoka. It's nice to meet you."

"Narukami Yuu," he said as he extended his hand out to her. "Likewise."

Madoka smiled as she took the hand.

"Good," Junko said with a nod. "Cousins should always be on good terms with each other. Anyway, I am so sorry for being late, Yuu-kun, but I really need to go. Madoka here will show you around the city instead, okay? Thanks, bye!"

And with that, Junko ran off to catch the bus, leaving the two teens to themselves.

"Your mother seems...busy," Yuu noted.

"She's always like this in the mornings," Madoka said with a small laugh. "Umm...would you like to walk around first or do you just wanna head to the house?"

"A walk is fine," Yuu answered as he stood up and slung his backpack around his shoulders. "It's still early and it's probably better to know my way around before school next week."

"Then, I know a few places you might like..."

* * *

The two of them walked around the city, heading to places that Madoka often visited with her friends. Things like cafes, bakeries, doll shops...extremely girly places. After the first doll shop, Madoka had realized what she was doing and asked Yuu if there was anything he had wanted to see but he was fine with what Madoka was showing him so she just kept on going.

Madoka was glad. Yuu wasn't unfriendly per se, just extremely quiet and perhaps just a little bit shy. When they stopped for lunch at a family restaurant she started trying to get to know him better.

"Ummm, Yuu-kun," Madoka began. "Do you have any hobbies?"

Yuu looked up from his steak and took out some colored folding paper from his backpack and folded it into a crane in less than a minute.

"Wow, that's really good!" Madoka said. "Can I try?"

"Sure," Yuu replied, holding the folding paper out as Madoka picked a pink one. She slowly and carefully tried to mimic Yuu's folding pattern but her crane ended up bent and crooked. "Terrible."

"Uuu...that's mean," Madoka pouted as took another one from him and tried a bit slower this time. It wasn't as crisped as the one Yuu made but it was much better than her first attempt. "See?"

In response, Yuu placed a crane the size of her thumb on top of hers with a smile.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Madoka said as she picked it up. "How long have you been making them to get this good?"

"A long time," Yuu replied, looking off to the side before returning to his steak. "Make them for part time jobs."

"Oh, you mean those jobs that asks for a thousand cranes? Amazing, how long does that take?"

"Maybe a week?"

"Don't your fingers ache though? I could never make that many in a week. A month maybe."

"I'm used to it."

"Is that right?" Madoka asked as she looked down at his hands. They were so much larger than hers that it surprised her that they could fold such a tiny crane so skillfully. A thought then came into her mind. "Do you build any models?"

"Models?"

"You know, the ones that have like a hundred different pieces? The robot ones."

"Oh, those. I want to but can't find any."

"There's a hobby shop just a little bit down. Do you want to check it...out?"

She saw it. A flash of blue hair just on the peripheral of her eye that had stopped right outside the window and looked at her in shock. Turning her head, she met eyes with her friend, Miki Sayaka, who was gaping at her in disbelief.

"Umm, Yuu-kun?" Madoka said as she quickly stood up. "Can you take care of the check? I need to um...use the bathroom!"

"Ah...sure..." he said as he watched the girl run off. "Must really have to go..."

He stood up and picked the check off the table and walked towards the cashier.

"Thank you very much," the cashier said. "Will you be paying for yourself and your girlfriend or will you be paying separately?"

"Cousin, not girlfriend," Yuu corrected. "And both."

"Alright, your total will come to a total of 2130 yen."

Yuu nodded as he pulled out a few bills and coins and handed it to the cashier.

"Hmm...if you don't mind me asking, but you're new in town aren't you?" the cashier asked as they put the money in the register.

"Yes," confirmed Yuu.

"Well then, allow me to welcome you to our wonderful city. I'm sure you can find many things to do around here but that would take a lot of money to do it all so you should think of getting a part time job while you're here. In fact, we're hiring right now."

"Maybe some other time."

"That's fine," the cashier said as they held out his change. "And welcome again to our city."

Yuu took the change as the cashier walked back towards the kitchen area to pick up a dish for another table when he suddenly felt light headed.

"Ergh...was it the steak?"

* * *

Madoka had ran outside to catch Sayaka before she could leave.

"Sayaka-chan, it's not what it looks like!" she said quickly.

"Madoka..." Sayaka replied with a hurt tone. "To think you actually managed to get a date before I did...ahh! My dear Madoka is growing up faster than me!"

"Let me explain, Sayaka-chan! That's my cousin!"

"You're dating your cousin? Ahhh! Madoka has fallen from the path!"

"Sayaka-chan!"

"Hahaha, sorry sorry. So that was your cousin huh? He looks nothing like you."

"Mama says that he gets it from his mother's side," Madoka replied. "He's going to be stay with us for a while so I'm showing him around the city. He'll also be starting school with us next week."

"Really?" Sayaka asked. "So what's he like?"

"We didn't really talk all that much but he's a kind person, if a bit blunt. He also likes making origami cranes. Like this..."

Madoka reached into her pocket and pulled out the tiny paper crane that Yuu had made earlier.

"Whoa, that's so cute," Sayaka said as she picked it up. "Must be pretty good with his hands."

"We were going to head over to that old hobby store and see if we can't find one of those robot models for him to build. I always wanted to see someone build one of them."

"You sure that's okay? I mean, your brother might get in the way."

"I'm sure it will be...ah, over here Yuu-kun!" Madoka spotted her cousin walking out of the restaurant and called him over. The boy walked over and turned his eyes towards Sayaka. "Ah, this is a friend of mine, Miki Sayaka. Sayaka-chan, this is my cousin, Narukami Yuu."

"Nice to meet ya," Sayaka said as she held her hand out. "Hmm? What's wrong? You're looking kind of pale there..."

"Just cold...I think," Yuu replied as he wrapped his scarf around his face and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"I don't blame ya. Even though its supposed to be spring..."

"You really don't look well," Madoka said worriedly. "Maybe we should go there another time. It would be bad if you got sick right after you got here."

"I suppose so..."

A cold shiver suddenly ran down his back as he jerked his head to the side. The reason for the feeling became apparent right away. A large truck was barreling down the street with no sign of stopping despite the light being red. The street it was on was empty, but not the one they were on.

"Get down!"

Yuu immediately threw himself on the two girls, causing them to cry out in shock and confusion before a loud crash sounded in the air followed by a loud thud.

The three of them sat up and stared at the wreckage. The truck had clip the back end of a smaller red sedan and caused it to smash into a streetlight that they had been standing right next to.

"W-what the..." Sayaka gasped as Yuu stood up.

The boy looked around and noticed that while there was a crowd gathering, no one was actually willing to get anywhere near the accident. Seeing no other choice, he ran towards the car.

"Oi, are you okay?" he asked the driver, but the man was unconscious with his face in the airbag. Yuu carefully lifted the man's head back and placed his ear near the man's nose. The man was breathing but only faintly.

"110!" Madoka said quickly as she took out her phone. "We need to call 110!"

Yuu ignored her as he went over to the woman on the passenger side. There were several cuts on the woman's face but she was still breathing, much better than the man was anyway.

"Miki!" Yuu called out, causing the stunned girl to jump. "Do you have a clean handkerchief or any tissues?"

"Y-yeah..." Sayaka said. "What do I..."

"Just try to clean this woman's cuts as much as possible," Yuu replied as he looked in the back. There was a girl, around his age lying on the bottom of the car. Compared to the adults, she was in much better shape despite being so close to the point of impact. He could see her chest moving up and down as she was trying to breathe.

He reached his hand through the broken window and unlocked the door and carefully pried it open. The girl seemed to notice him as she slowly opened her eyes and reached her hand out towards him, which he took as he carefully crawled in as well.

"It's okay," he said as softly as possible as he gripped her hand. He remembered the first aid instructor saying it was important to keep people calm and that holding their hand was a good start. "Everything is going to be okay. Can you breathe? Can you take deep breaths for me?"

The girl tried taking a few more breaths but it looked like she was in pain with each breath. Yuu grit his teeth as he slowly pulled the girl's hand off his own hand.

"Please excuse me..." he said softly as he reached for the girl's shirt and tore it.

"W-what the hell are you doing?" Sayaka shouted.

"She's having trouble breathing," Yuu replied with a straight face. "I'm trying to make it easier for her. Can you keep her company? I want to check on the truck driver too."

But he was stopped as the girl grabbed onto his hand again.

"Don't...leave me..." she cried out.

"It's just for a moment. I need to..."

"Please..."

"I'll do it..." Sayaka said as she stepped back from the car. "Anything I should know?"

"Try to make sure they can breathe. If he's conscious, try to make him comfortable but make sure no one moves him. "Moving someone can make a small injury worse."

"R-right..."

As Sayaka left, he stayed with the girl to try and calm her down. Occasionally, he would check the girl's parents to make sure they were still breathing, and thankfully they were. Finally, after what seemed like hours to him, the paramedics arrived at the scene. Yuu wanted to leave but the girl just did not want to let him go, forcing him to keep holding her hand as the paramedics extracted her and her parents from the car.

He could feel her nails digging into his skin, which was starting to hurt. He wondered why. It wasn't like the girl was in as bad of shape compared to her parents to be gripping his hand like it was what was keeping her rooted to the earth.

"Don't leave me...don't leave me..." she kept repeating the same words over and over.

He couldn't leave even if he wanted to. Even without her holding onto his hand with such force, he was probably the only thing keeping her from freaking out any further and possibly increase some hidden injury.

He was only finally able to leave when they tranquilized her and carefully removed his hand from her almost death grip.

"You did a good thing here today," an officer said as Yuu allowed a medic to look at his hand.

"Only because no one else would," Yuu replied as bile began rising up from his stomach but he fought it down.

"You okay kid?"

"Maybe...can I just tell you what I saw then go?"

"Sure, whenever you're ready."

"I came out of the restaurant with my cousin who stopped to introduce me to her friend when I saw the truck wasn't slowing down at the light. After that I threw myself over my cousin and friend as a loud crash reached my ears. I guess that was when the car was hit."

"I see...and your name?"

"Narukami Yuu. But I want to remain anonymous please."

"No problem. This is for police eyes only. Do you want the family to know or..."

"No. I just moved here and I don't want to trouble my family so early."

"All right then. Now we may contact you for a more detailed witness statement later on, but other than that, you're free to go."

With that, the officer let him go on his way as he walked back to the two other girls.

"Are you two okay?" he asked. "Were you hurt?"

"Only when you knocked us over," Sayaka said rubbing her back. "Though...considering the alternative...it's not so bad." she added as she looked at the wreckage.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Madoka asked.

"Hopefully. Can we leave before a news crew comes?"

"Good idea. I'll see you later, Madoka."

With that, Sayaka quickly ran leaving the two cousins alone before the two of them left as well.

* * *

"Not what you expected for your first day, huh?" Madoka asked. "Saving lives, I mean."

"I didn't do anything," Yuu said honestly. "All I did was check to see if they _were_ still alive. The paramedics and doctors are the one saving lives."

"But you saved mine and Sayaka-chan lives when you pushed us away didn't you?"

"That counts? It wasn't that close to us in the first place."

"Come now, there's no need to be modest," Madoka said as she unlocked the door. "We're back, Papa, Tatsuya!"

"Welcome, Madoka," Tomohisa called from the living room, where he was watching TV. "Ah, you must be Yuu-kun. Welcome."

"It's nice to meet you," Yuu replied with a bow. "What are you watching?"

"The news. It seems like there was a pretty bad crash in the city today and a boy was the only one who tried to help them..."

"_...though the boy in question already left by the time we arrived, witness accounts say that the boy was in his mid-teens wearing a black coat with a red scarf._"

"Eh?" Tomohisa asked as he turned towards the TV and then back at Yuu. His eyes ran up and down Yuu's body, taking in the boy's clothes followed by the bandage on his hand. "That was you?"

"Madoka was the one who called the paramedics," Yuu said pointing to the girl.

"_And not only was he helping the victims of the crash, but apparently, he was also seen pushing two girls out of the way just before the car crashed into them. If anyone has any information about this young hero at all, please let us know at channel..._"

"I think I'm going to pack this coat and scarf away and never wear them again," Yuu said as he took them off before turning to his uncle. "Have my things arrived?"

"Y-yeah...your room's on the second floor...third door on the right..."

"Thank you."

And with that, Yuu went up the stairs leaving Madoka with her father.

"Did he really...?" Tomohisa asked.

"Yes," Madoka nodded. "The other girl was Sayaka-chan."

"I see...heck of a first day for him isn't it?"

"That's what I said."

"Well, why don't you go and see if he needs any help unpacking?"

"Okay."

Madoka walked up the stairs and towards Yuu's new room and poked her head inside. But instead of seeing the boy unpacking, he was fast asleep on the bed without even bothering to change his clothes. All things considered, he was probably exhausted.

"Hee hee," Madoka giggled as she draped the blanket over him. "Welcome to Mitakihara, Yuu-kun. And thank you for everything today."

* * *

**Sunday, April 5****th****:****Cloudy**

Tomoe Mami slowly opened her eyes to a white ceiling and a comfortable bed as she tried to look around. Her body was aching and her leg felt extremely heavy but other than that, she didn't feel any pain anywhere else. Looking to her left, she noticed an iv drip in her arm.

That was right. A truck had hit her family's car. She had been in a car accident. But now she was in a hospital. Someone had saved her. That boy had saved her.

"Ah you're awake," came a gentle voice beside her. Turning her head, she saw a nurse standing over her. "Nothing too serious," the nurse continued. "Just a broken leg and a few cuts. All things considered, you were very lucky."

"My...parents?" she managed to ask.

"They're still asleep."

The nurse pointed to the spare beds in front of her where a man and a woman were still resting. The woman's face was covered in multiple bandages and the man had a cast around his neck. Relief filled her body, knowing that they were all alive after that, as tears began falling from her eyes.

That boy. Thanks to that boy they were all still alive. That boy saved her and stayed with her despite being total strangers. But for some reason, she can't remember his face. All she remembered were three colors. Silver, red and black. She didn't even know the boy's name.

What she did know however...was that she wanted to meet him again.

* * *

**Sunday April 12****th****:****Raining/Foggy**

The week past by quickly since then, making it the night before the first day of school

Yuu had managed to settle in fairly well and managed to get along with Madoka pretty easily. Her brother, however, was another thing. Deep down, Yuu found the boy's antics cute and playful. On the surface however, it was hard to find it anything other than annoying as the boy made off with one of the sheets containing the pieces.

"Ahh! Tatsuya, come back here with that!" Madoka called out as she chased the boy.

"Robot! Robot!" the boy said as he ducked below her arms.

Yuu could only sigh as he reached for a different one and used the wire cutter to cut another piece off and started working on that instead. He already made two of them within the last week and needed just two more to complete the Red Star set.

To be honest, he was sure he could have finished all four within a week due to their simplicity but Tatsuya's interference greatly slowed his progress since the boy seemed very adept in sneaking into his room while he was working on it. Perhaps he should ask Tomohisa to buy a lock for the door...

"I...got...it..." Madoka panted as she laid the piece sheet back on his desk.

"Thanks," Yuu said as he placed the sheet back on the box.

"Umm...are you nervous about starting school tomorrow?" Madoka asked, trying to strike up a conversation again.

"Not really. It's not like the others since I actually know people going in."

"Is that right? I hope we're in the same class."

"I doubt it."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because I'm a third year..."

"...Eh?" Madoka stared at her cousin who simply stared back. "But I thought...Mama said...that we were around the same age?"

"I don't know why Junko-san said that but I'm fifteen and you're fourteen right? So you're a second year and I'm a third year..."

Madoka couldn't help but feel just a little disappointed at this news. She had hoped to use school as another way to get to spend time with her cousin. Well, at least she still has the lunch period.

"I see, too bad...ah, it's getting late," Madoka said as she looked at the clock on Yuu's desk. "Time for bed, Tatsuya. Say goodnight to Yuu-kun."

"Bed! Bed!" Tatsuya repeated as Madoka took his hand. "Goodnight!"

"Yeah, good night you two."

As the two of them left, Yuu sighed as he leaned back on his chair.

"So this is the next place I'm spending the year, huh?" he asked as he listened to the sound of rain beating against his window. And before he knew it, he was starting to relax with his eyes closed.

"_Do you wish to learn the truth?_"

His eyes shot wide open and he found himself in a long...corridor perhaps? It was too foggy to tell. However, he managed to see the faint outline of something in front of him.

"_Then try to catch it..._" it seem to say as it turned around and vanished into the fog.

* * *

**Monday April 13****th****:****Raining**

"Are we really in such a hurry that we need to run?" Yuu asked as he and Madoka ran down the road, stuffing the last of their breakfast into their mouths while trying to keep dry under their umbrellas. Madoka was using a bright pink one while Yuu had a clear white one.

"Not really," Madoka admitted as she brushed her hands off. "But I usually meet up with my friends and we walk the rest of the way."

"You mean Miki?"

"Yep. Sayaka-chan and another friend, Shizuki Hitomi."

"I see...a real life harem..."

"Please don't say such creepy things with a straight face...ah, good morning!"

Yuu looked up and saw Sayaka standing next to a green haired girl, who were both using umbrellas that were the same color for their hair for some reason. Not that he was one to talk of course.

"Good morning," the green haired girl replied. "Oh, who is this? Your boyfriend?"

""No, cousin,"" the two of them replied at the same time before looking at each other.

"Ah, Madoka you two are already perfectly in synch!" Sayaka said as she covered her eyes and leaned back in an exaggerated manner. "The two of you are perfect for each other. Hitomi, our little Madoka has left us behind!"

"No! I told you that's not it, Sayaka-chan!" Madoka cried as she chased after her friend.

"Are they always like this?" Yuu asked Hitomi, who nodded.

"They are such good friends, don't you think?" she asked with a hand on her cheek as the other two girls finally ran back to them so they could continue their walk to school.

"So are you getting used to the city, Narukami-senpai?" Hitomi asked.

"More or less," Yuu replied as he turned toward the small creek they were walking beside. "It's a very beautiful city...when it's not raining."

"Indeed, and then the fog rolls in and you can't see anything at all."

"So...any more heroic exploits since then?" Sayaka asked with a sly smile on her face.

"Things have been nice and quiet."

"Heroic exploits?" Hitomi asked.

"You know that accident last week?" Sayaka clarified. "The one where the mysterious boy with the black coat and red scarf saved the family in the sedan?"

"Yes, I've been following that story quite closely."

"Get this, the hero was this guy."

"Eh, really?"

"You were the one who helped the truck driver," Yuu countered. "I don't see why you weren't mentioned in the news."

"Probably because the mysterious boy in black and red sounds better, Mister Hero."

Yuu sighed as he scratched the back of his head. He was never really good at expressing himself, but Madoka and now Sayaka kept getting him to talk and he found himself getting caught in their pace more often than not.

Well, it's not like it was a bad thing.

"But you were really calm and cool during that time, Yuu-kun," Madoka said. "Weren't you scared at all?"

"'_All men are born with the great spirit of masculinity within themselves_,'" Yuu recited his favorite passage from his favorite series. "People needed help and I was able to help them."

"I don't get it," Sayaka replied with a shrug. "The whole masculinity thing anyway…must be a guy thing. I get the whole wanting to help people thing though. I wonder if they're all okay."

"I don't know about the family, but the truck driver's company is in trouble since the man was drinking and driving," Hitomi replied. "I heard about it on the news last night.

"Are you serious?" Sayaka asked as she shook her head in disgust. "Some people just don't know the meaning of restraint. It was barely after noon too."

"Let's just be glad no one died," Madoka said. "At least, I hope no one did. They would have mentioned it on the news if someone from the family died right?"

"I believe they would," Hitomi nodded. "Though I wonder why no one knew your name, Narukami-senpai. Didn't the police question you?"

"They did, but I asked them to keep my name a secret," Yuu replied. "I didn't want the attention after just moving into the city. So please don't spread it around."

"Of course, the hero needs to keep his identity a secret after all," Sayaka said with the same grin she had on earlier.

"Sayaka-chan, please stop teasing him," Madoka said as Yuu sighed again. "Oh, we're here."

Yuu shifted his umbrella slightly so he could see his new school more properly, only to freeze at the sheer size of the building. It was at least five floors high and was as extremely long as well. What does a school need all the space for? Were all the facilities indoors? He was certain it wasn't some rich kid's private school. Quite frankly, he was feeling intimidated by it all.

"Do you need help looking for the office?" his cousin asked helpfully.

"Yes, please," he replied immediately.

"Then, we'll see you later in class, Madoka," Sayaka said as she and Hitomi separated from the two cousins before Sayaka stopped and turned around with that same smirk she had earlier. "Don't take too long now."

"Sayaka-chan!"

* * *

Madoka had managed to show Yuu the way to the office before the bell rang and left after finding him a teacher, but not before telling him her class number so they could meet up after class.

Yuu had been left in the care of a man with messy black hair wearing a black suit with a black tie and black shoes. He seems to be going for a theme here.

"Narukami Yuu, correct?" the man asked and Yuu responded with a nod. "I'm Katou Shinichi; I teach history for the third years and am your homeroom teacher, a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise sir," Yuu said with a nod.

"Hmm…according to this, you've been changing schools quite often, then?"

"Yes."

"It must be rough. The best part about being a kid is that you can make friends to last you the rest of your life, something that's hard to do if you move all the time. Well, I hope you are at least able to make some friends in your yearlong stay with us here at Mitakihara. At the very least, I hope you'll along with my son. He'll be your classmate."

"Yes sir."

"Well, enough chitchatting for now," Katou said as he stood up from his seat. "We need to head to the classroom to introduce you. I hope you had a light breakfast because it's quite the trek."

Yuu felt that Katou-sensei seemed like an interesting man. He was easy going and looked like the type to genuinely care about the students under his charge. That and the man had no problems complaining about various aspects of the school as they were walking.

"After five years of teaching here I still don't understand why we have glass walls," he said gesturing to one of the first year classrooms they were walking past to get to the stairs. "If you're going to let people see through them then why have them at all? It makes it look like everyone's on display in a museum or zoo or something. The school certainly is big enough to be one."

Yuu couldn't deny that. The school seemed even bigger and wider on the inside than it did on the outside. It was a strange phenomenon he observed in one of the Kaname's bathrooms. That room felt as big as the entire house, and all it contained was a pair of sinks. Perhaps it had something to do with the glass walls as well.

"Well, here we are," Katou said, pointing to a classroom to their right after climbing to the third floor. "Look, everyone already knows you're here. No surprise or privacy at all."

Yuu looked inside and could see the majority of the class looking out at him. There was quite the number of students inside, at least thirty. Turning his gaze away from the "wall" he followed his teacher inside.

"Morning everyone," Katou said as he stood in front of the class. "And welcome to the new school year. First off, I'm Katou, your new homeroom teacher for the year."

Standing at the doorway, Yuu noted that several of the students were smiling and quite a few guys even clenched their hand in triumph. It seems Katou really was a popular teacher or something. Now that he was taking a closer look, he noticed a few empty chairs in the room despite the already large amount of students. There were only a few students that stood out to the eye though.

A dark haired girl in the back, looking at him from behind her bangs, a red headed girl who was sleeping with her head on her desk, and a black haired boy who gave him a small wave when their eyes met during his scan of the room.

"Secondly, as you all can see, we have a new student joining us this year," he heard Katou say as the teacher turned to write Yuu's name on the white board. "Please introduce yourself."

"Narukami Yuu," he said. "It's nice to meet you."

"Narukami has just moved here last week so go easy on him okay? Now let's see, where is an empty seat? How about over there in the back corner?"

Yuu looked over toward the direction where Katou was pointing at and it seems that he was pointing toward the dark haired girl who jumped slightly attention was called to her. Shrugging his shoulders, Yuu made his way to the back and sat down.

"Nice to meet you," he said to the girl in front of him.

"N-Nice to meet you," the girl replied with a _quick_ nod and then an awkward silence fell between them as the girl didn't say anything more.

"I'm Narukami Yuu..." Yuu said, trying to at least learn his neighbor's name. "...And you are?"

"Kure...Kirika...nice to meet you, Narukami-san."

"You too, Kure-san."

"All right settle down now," Katou said. "Now I'm going to take roll call now. Make sure you answer loudly and clearly. Don't want to be marked absent after all."

Katou began running through the lists and Yuu focused, trying to at least remember the names of his classmates.

"Katou Kenichi."

"Here Dad," the dark haired boy who waved at Yuu earlier replied.

"That's 'Katou-sensei' in school. Kure Kirika."

"H-here," Kirika said as she raised her hand.

"Sakura Kyouko...Sakura Kyouko..."

Katou frowned as he walked up to the sleeping red haired girl on the other side of the room from Yuu. The teacher looked down at her and called her name again, but when it seemed like she wasn't going to wake up, pressed his foot on the mechanism on the ground, causing the chair to fold close, and causing her to fall backwards onto the ground

"Ugyaaah!" Kyouko screamed as she fell onto the floor. "Ouchie..."

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Sakura-san," Katou said as the class started chuckling. "If you wish to sleep do it during break or in a class other than mine."

"But it's still homeroom isn't it?" Kyouko asked.

"Still my class. Now sit back up."

The girl grumbled and returned her seat to an upright position as Katou began to read off the names again.

"Tomoe Mami," he said finally as he looked around. "Is she not here yet?"

"I think she's coming now, Dad," Kenichi said pointing out towards the wall.

Yuu and the rest of the class turned their heads to look and they saw a blonde girl who had styled her hair into twin drills at her side making her way towards the door with a pair of crutches.

"Well...I can't really take points off for that," Katou said as he opened the door for her. "Tomoe Mami I presume?"

"Yes, I apologize for being late," Mami said as she entered the room. She then turned her eyes toward the rest of the room and seemed to shift uncomfortably under the gaze until she locked eyes with Yuu. "You're...

"_That girl..._" Yuu thought as his eyes widened.

* * *

Chapter's End Corner

**Harouki**: Hello everybody! Welcome to one of my latest crossover project, crossing over Persona 4 with Puella Magi Madoka Magica! As before, I am your host and the writer, Harouki!

**Sayaka**: Why am I here again?

**Harouki**: Because I need a co-host and you're my favorite.

**Sayaka**: Gee, that's so flattering...so why the crossover?

**Harouki**: Simple. What are Shadows?

**Sayaka**: I don't know? The thing that appears when you shine a light one someone?

**Harouki**: I suppose that's right...but well...I'll answer why I'm doing this at a later time. But I'll leave you all with this. Think about what a Shadow is in the Persona 4 game/anime. Think about the secrets of the Magical Girls in PMMM. Now...what are the Incubator's objectives and what happens to Shadows when someone says those damn three words? Do you see it? Clever huh?

**Sayaka**: And for those of us who DON'T see it?

**Harouki**: You'll find out in one or two chapters. Depending on my pacing.

**Sayaka**: Great...

**Harouki**: Don't worry if you can't figure it out. When you see it, you'll see it. =D

**Sayaka:** Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica and all associated characters and locations are the Property of Urobuci and Shaft...I think?

**Harouki:** Persona 4 and its respective elements are the property of Atlas..I think? Either way, I own NOTHING but the plot and any and all original characters that appear in this fic. See Kamen Rider Homu-O Magica for the second new story I put out today! Updates will be sporadic unlike with Code Magi Lyrical Rider! Sorry!


	2. Chapter 2: Boy Meets Girls

**Review + Answers!**

**Nim Maj: Perhaps, but I don't really see the point in bringingin Lelouch. But yes, Homuhomu is free from Walpugis Night! Yayz!  
**

**Mister SP: Not exactly, but I'll be explaining that later on...if I remember.**

**ZeroRanma2: I don't know. I'm not that great of a writer after all.  
**

**mysterious P4 player: Then you better stop reading this and watch the series. There might be a ton of spoilers later on and the faster you watch Puella Magi Madoka Magica the better.  
**

**Vox12349: It's not Narukami who changed the PMMM storyline. It's a whole different world.  
**

**ralf07: We'll get there when we get there.  
**

**deus-rasengan2: Thanks for the compliment, but I found several bad and awkward sentences during my sixth read through. I know my writing pales compares to other people but it's nice to hear either way.  
**

As this seems to be more of a hit, I will be focusing on this over Kamen Rider Homu-O Magica. The only reason I posted both series at the same time was as an indirect poll to see which one got more hits/visitors. At first Homu-O was in the lead then Persona slowly got more. Perhaps it just has a better re-reading factor? Oh well, this has more reviews/favs/alerts anyway. Let's go!

Oh and before you thank me, for updating, read the chapter and the End Corner. It might not be to your liking.

Also, sorry to all of you who got an alert saying that it was updated. I screwed up a bit on that.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Boy Meets Girls**

* * *

"_That girl..._" Yuu thought as Katou pointed Mami to a seat. "_Her breasts are...big..._"

Realizing he was staring, Yuu turned his head so he was facing the white board as Mami sat down in the empty seat beside his, resting her crutches against the back wall. He then felt his body heating up for some strange reason. Was the girl looking at him?

Curious, he decided to turn his head toward her, only for her to jump and turn her own head away instead as Katou called the class back to order so he could finish taking attendance.

"Well looks like everyone is here," Katou said as he closed the attendance sheet. "It would be bad if you were absent on the first day of class. That goes for all the other days too. Now then, as you all are entering your third year of middle school, it is important that you all start considering what high school you want to get into and take the necessary preparations to study for their entrance exams."

"Of course, not all of you may want to continue your education past the mandatory limit and go straight into getting a part time job instead. Both choices are fine and I'll do my best to that you get what you're striving for. Personally, I would prefer if you all decided continue with your education but it's your life, your choice."

"Well that's all for today," Katou said as he gathered his things. "Normal lectures and classes will begin tomorrow. The cafeteria will be open until one if anyone is feeling hungry again."

"Ah, Sensei! You looked at me when you said that didn't you?" Kyouko shouted.

"Did I?" Katou asked as he made his way to the exit. "I thought I was simply sweeping my eyes through the class…"

But he was then cut off when the chime rang throughout the PA speakers.

"Attention, all teachers," a woman's voice said. "Please report immediately to the faculty room for a staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice."

"Well…looks like a change of plans," Katou muttered. "Well, looks like you all are stuck here for a little bit longer."

And with that the teacher left the room and Yuu sighed as he opened up his bag to pull out a book to read. It seems like this was going to take a while.

"Yo, Narukami."

Looking up from his book, he spotted a dark haired boy looking down at him.

"You are…Katou, right?"

"Yep, Katou Kenichi," the boy replied. "Just call me Kenichi. Don't want to be confused for my dad while we're in class together. So, how do you like our fair city so far?"

"Things are...much bigger here than in my hometown."

"Hahaha, I can see that. I got lost in this school on my first day here too, and my dad's a teacher here. Need someone to show you around once we're able to leave?"

"I made plans with my cousin and her friends after class."

"Her friends...you mean with a bunch of girls?"

"Yeah."

"Mind if I tag along? It'd be uncomfortable being the only boy in a group of girls wouldn't it?"

"Not really. They seem like friendly people."

"Come on man, hook a guy up...I'll treat ya."

"Treat what?" came another voice as the girl that had been sleeping at her desk earlier poked her head in between the two boys. "Someone treating for food? Can I come?"

"Oi Sakura...weren't you just sleeping a second ago?" Kenichi asked.

"Don't change the subject! We're going for food and it's your treat right?"

"My offer for 'we' is for me and Narukami here. Not me and you."

"Hah? Come on don't be stingy!"

"I'm stingy? How about paying me back the two thousand yen I lent you last year!"

As the two of them started arguing, the PA system turned on again.

"Attention all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the school zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home. I repeat..."

Immediately, the other students started talking about the so called incident and a few of them were already considering to disregard the orders and head directly to the scene.

Yuu sighed put his book back into his bag and stood up, but his two classmates were still arguing, neither of them having registered the new announcement.

"_I should leave them alone_," he thought as he swung his bag over his shoulder and exited the classroom without looking back.

As he reached the second floor, he spotted Madoka coming out with Sayaka and Hitomi.

"Yo, so much for quiet, huh?" Sayaka asked with a shrug.

"Is it normally like this?" Yuu asked. "Two accidents in a single week."

"Not at all," Hitomi replied. "Despite being a large city, it's normally very quiet. But nevertheless, it seems that we're to head straight home today."

"Yeah, so let's get going," Madoka nodded.

The four of them climbed down to the first floor to their shoe lockers when Hitomi found something in her locker.

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong, Hitomi?"

As Hitomi extracted the foreign object, the other three crowded around her to see what it was.

"Ah...could this be...a love letter?" Sayaka gasped.

"Wow, you're so lucky, Hitomi-chan!" Madoka said.

"So that's a love letter," Yuu muttered. "This is my first time seeing one."

"Is that right?" Hitomi asked as she put the letter in her bag.

"So what are you going to do with it?" Sayaka asked.

"I suppose I'll read it and decide later. Shall we get going then?"

"Yeah. Let's get going before a teacher yells at us for hanging around."

* * *

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask earlier but why did you transfer over here anyway?" Sayaka asked as the four of them were walking back together.

"My parents jobs keep them busy working and they didn't want me home alone so they sent me to live with Madoka's family," Yuu replied.

"That right? I thought it was something way more crazy, like hiding from fans of your heroics."

"Geez, Sayaka-chan...aren't you ever going to stop making fun of him?" Madoka asked.

"It's not like it's an insult. Being a hero is a good thing."

"Not when you say it all the time like that."

"Is something wrong, Shizuki?" Yuu asked, seeing Hitomi's distant looking expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry it seems that the letter is more on my mind than I thought," she replied, placing a hand on her cheek. "I'm really not sure what to do."

"If you're not looking for a boyfriend or already have someone you like then you should just reject or ignore it right? Isn't that how it works?"

"Hmm...I suppose you are right. Thank you."

"Ho ho...it sounds like you're hoping for a shot at Hitomi yourself, Narukami-kun," Sayaka asked with that grin of hers. "You think she's pretty cute, right?"

Yuu sighed inwardly as he looked at Sayaka. If that was how she was going to play, then he'll have to counter properly. Mustering up all his courage, he began to speak.

"I guess she is pretty cute," he nodded before putting on his best smile for her. "But then, so are you, Miki."

"W-w-w-w-what!"

The reaction was just as he expected. Sayaka's face turned bright red as she stopped walking and gaped at him in shock. One would think no one had ever called her cute before.

Smiling to himself as the other girls laughed at Sayaka's expense, Yuu continued walking before Sayaka shouted at him.

"Wait a minute! Get back here!"

Yuu turned around at the sound of her voice just in time to see Sayaka swing her bag at him. Ducking under the blow he started running as Sayaka chased after him.

"Get back here!"

"They're getting a long fine, don't you think?" Hitomi asked.

"Heehee, I think so too," Madoka agreed.

* * *

Mami sighed as she finally made it down to the first floor of the school. She knew it would be a pain going all the way up to the third floor normally, but with crutches...it was just unbearable. Not to mention it made her late on the first day of class.

"Ah Tomoe-san, please wait a minute."

Mami turned around to see her homeroom teacher coming up behind her.

"Yes, Katou-sensei?"

"I can see that you're having trouble getting to school so I'll excuse your tardiness today but I won't be able to do it everyday. Still, you were only a few minutes after the bell. Is there a way you can head to school earlier?"

"I'm sorry, I'll try harder starting tomorrow."

"That's all I ask. If you'd like I can get you permission to use the elevator to make things easier on you."

"Yes, thank you very much."

At least her teacher was understanding.

"In any case, I finally read your notes. You and your family were in an accident?"

"That's right. It happened last week while we were having an outing and a truck hit our car."

"Ah, it wouldn't have happened to be that little 'Black and Red Hero' incident on the news, would it?"

"Black and Red Hero?" Mami asked. "I'm sorry, I haven't been keeping up with the news..."

"Ah, were you unconscious at the time?" Katou asked as he scratched the back of his head. "There was apparently a boy that helped your family out. The boy didn't leave a name behind and disappeared before the news casters arrived. So, they've been calling him the hero in black and red after his coat and scarf."

"So it wasn't a dream..." Mami muttered to herself. "Umm...who was that boy that sitting at the desk to my left?"

"To your left...ah, you mean Narukami Yuu?" Katou asked.

"Yes. I don't recall ever seeing him around..."

"I'd be surprised if you have. He just transferred in today after all. But I shouldn't keep you any longer. Hurry home now and don't stray."

"I understand. See you tomorrow, Sensei."

And with that, Mami gave her teacher a quick bow before heading off.

"So his name is Narukami Yuu, huh?"

* * *

**Tuesday, April 14th: Cloudy**

"It's raining a lot lately, huh?" Madoka asked as she and Yuu walked down the road to the school with their umbrellas at their sides. "Though hopefully it won't rain until the evening."

"Hopefully," Yuu agreed. "But it looks like it might rain once school ends..."

"Oi! Madoka! Narukami-kun!"

"Good morning, Madoka-san, Narukami-senpai."

"Good morning!"

"Morning."

"So did you guys hear what happened yesterday?" Sayaka asked.

"Yeah, it's scary right?" Madoka nodded. "Finding a dead body hanging from a water tower."

"Not only that, but it was the truck driver guy from the accident! You think someone wanted revenge on the guy? Like someone from his job?"

"Can we not talk about that? It's creepy..."

"A killer walks amongst us..."

"Yuu-kun, not you too!"

"Everyone is so energetic today as usual," Hitomi laughed as she watched Madoka playfully hit Sayaka and Yuu.

* * *

"Why is this school so big...?" Yuu asked as they climbed the first flight of stairs inside the building. "It's big for the sake of being big..."

"Really?" Sayaka asked. "It seems normal to me. Was your old school smaller?"

"It wasn't even a third of this school's size."

"Walking up three flights of stairs after taking the long walk here too much for you?"

"That's not it...hmm?"

Something near the top of the second flight of stairs caught his attention. It was the girl that came in late to homeroom from yesterday. It seems she was having trouble climbing the stairs with her crutches. She seemed to be taking it one step at a time.

"Do you think we should help?" Madoka asked, having noticed the girl as well.

"Huh? Uh...I guess," Yuu nodded as they shortened the distance . "Excuse..."

"Oh Narukami, is that you?" a voice from behind them asked, causing Yuu and the others to turn around. A few steps below them was Katou Kenichi who was waving up to him before his expression turned to one of shock. "Narukami, in front of you!"

"Huh?"

Yuu turned around to see another face looking at him with shock and fear, one that was getting closer at an alarming pace. It seems the girl in front of him had slipped on the step and was falling towards him.

Dropping his bag, he quickly threw his arms out to catch her. The girl slammed into him, knocking him off his feet, causing him to fall backwards as well. He heard someone scream, but he wasn't sure who it was as he held onto her with one arm and reached his other hand out to grab something, anything to stop or slow their fall.

"Gotcha!"

Thankfully, someone did grab onto him. Looking over the girl's head, he saw that Kenichi had grabbed his arm with both hands while Sayaka, who was being supported by Hitomi and Madoka grabbing hold of her waist, was holding onto the back his shirt. Once they saw that the two of them had stopped falling, everyone let out a relieved sigh.

"You two okay?" Kenichi asked as he pulled the two of them to their feet.

"Yeah," Yuu replied as he got a firm grip on the railing. "What about you?"

"Eh? Me?" the girl asked as she looked up at him before taking a quick step back. "I-I'm fine, thank you for saving me..."

"No problem," Kenichi replied. "Thank you to you girls too. You saved me from falling down as well."

"I thought I wasn't going to make it..." Sayaka breathed as she placed a hand on her heart. "Also lucky no one else was on the stairs at this time."

"Um, here are your crutches," Madoka said as she and Hitomi handed them to the girl.

"Ah, thank you."

"Hey, you're Tomoe Mami, right?" Kenichi said suddenly. "We're in the same class."

"Hmm...ah, you're...Katou Kenichi-san, correct? I overheard you introduce yourself to Narukami-san yesterday. Umm, you do remember me right? I sit next to you in class."

"Of course," Yuu nodded. From his seat, there were only two people around him after all, Kirika and Mami, so it was easy to remember their names. For some reason though, Mami seemed to be delighted by the fact that she was remembered. "Do you need help getting to class?"

"That would be nice, thank you."

"Then I'll take her crutches and you help support her," Kenichi said.

"Right, I'll see you three later, Madoka."

"See you around lunchtime then," Madoka said as she and her friends headed to their class, leaving the third years to get to their own.

* * *

Classes passed by quickly with little events as lunchtime drew closer. Right now he was in the middle Katou's class, but it was interesting to say the least. Katou, like all his other teachers, seemed to often go out on tangents when lecturing and tended to ask multiple choice questions to random students about what they just talked about or even things completely unrelated to their own subjects. Katou however, seemed to stick closely to his own subject more than the other teachers though.

"Let's see...who to pick...how about you, Kure?" Katou asked as he pointed to Kirika. "Which period in history did Japanese adopt the name, 'Sengoku' from? The Hundred Years War, The Warring States Period, or the Black Death?"

"Umm...I think it was..." Kirika began but it seems that she is unsure of the answer.

"Warring States," Yuu whispered from behind his book.

"The Warring States?"

"Correct," Katou nodded before returning his attention to the White board. "Now the Sengoku period is well known as the period before Japan was unified under the Tokugawa shogunate. Besides Daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu, there were two other Daimyo vying for power and control during that time, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Frankly, it reminds me a lot of the Three Kingdoms era of China, but we'll leave that for some other time..."

"Thank you," Kirika whispered as she turned her head around before turning her attention back to the white board.

"Any time."

* * *

When the lunch bell rang, Yuu was wondering what the cafeteria had to offer when Kenichi came up to him.

"Dad and his samurai, huh?" Kenichi asked as Yuu put his books in his bag. "I'm just amazed that he hasn't started walking around with an old-fashioned helmet on his head. Can you just imagine someone, much less a teacher, doing that?"

"For some reason, it's not all that hard to imagine," Yuu replied as he stood up.

"Ugh...great, you are right. So, heading to the cafeteria to meet your lady friends?"

"Yeah."

"You mind if I come with ya? How about you Tomoe?"

"Eh? Me?" Mami asked as she jerked her head in their direction.

"Yeah, the more the merrier, right Narukami?"

"Unless you already have plans of course," Yuu said.

"No, it's fine! Let's go."

"What about you Ku...huh?"

The boys turned towards Kirika, but the dark haired girl had already disappeared from her seat as soon as the lunch bell had rung.

"Guess she already had plans," Yuu said as Kenichi scratched his head in confusion.

"The girl moves quick, that's for sure. Oh by the way, here you go Tomoe. Dad said to give you this elevator key card so you don't have an accident like what happened this morning again. He said it normally would have taken a week, but the accident this morning which almost injured you and Narukami here allowed him to expedite things."

"I see, well this would help a lot. Shall we get going then?"

Yuu noticed that compared to yesterday, Mami was looking a lot more confident with herself. Perhaps it was she had arrived late to homeroom and it had made her feel nervous, especially when she had a leg in a cast. Still, it's only the second day, he shouldn't assume things like this.

* * *

"It's...big..." Yuu said dumbly as he, Mami and Kenichi entered the cafeteria.

Just like everything else in this school, or rather this entire city, was extremely large and fancy looking. There were several tables in the center of the cafeteria as well as several booths on the outer edge of the court.

"Haha, I guess it can be a little overwhelming for a newcomer," Kenichi said as he patted Yuu on the back. "Don't worry though, you'll get used to it."

How in the world was he supposed to get used to a city where it seems that the architects and designers had no sense of scale? And was there always this many students in the school? How in the world did they all fit in here? How big is this cafeteria anyway? It seemed to take up the entire floor.

"Well, should we take a table or look around for your cousin and her friends?" Kenichi asked.

"They're not here yet," Yuu replied, quickly scanning the entire room. He did not see the head of pink hair of his cousin, nor the blue and green hairs of her friends.

"Then should we find a table first?" Mami suggested.

"Why don't you and Narukami go find one then while you save the us the table, Narukami will head to the line with your order as well?" Kenichi suggested.

"Eh? But..."

"Why not?" Yuu asked. "It's more convenient that way."

"So it's settled, I'll go save a spot in line then."

As Kenichi headed over to the line, Mami and Yuu headed the other way to the tables, carefully weaving through the crowd, which wasn't all that difficult due to everyone giving Mami a wide berth.

"Um...so how are you liking the city?" Mami asked, looking for a conversation topic.

"Hmm?"

"U-umm, Katou-sensei told me that you just moved here so..."

"Oh, well it's a nice city...if a little bit big," Yuu answered with an afterthought.

"Is that right? I've lived here all my life so I don't really have anything to compare it to."

"Well, it's big, take my word for it."

"I suppose I will...ah, there's one."

The two of them finally found a table large enough to sit six people near the windows. Yuu walked on over and peered outside, noting just how high up he was. Again, he could only question the purpose of glass walls.

"Is something wrong?" Mami asked as she came up to him.

"Just admiring the view," Yuu replied. "Allow me," he added as he pulled out a chair for her.

"Ah, thank you."

"So what did you want to order?"

"Just a lunch set would be fine. You should hurry before the line gets too long."

"Right."

As Yuu headed toward the lunch line, he held a hand to his chin in thought.

"_She really looks familiar_," he thought to himself. "_But where have I seen her before?_"

Yuu racked his memories trying to put his memories together but someone had called his name.

"Narukami! Over here."

Kenichi was waving him over at the back of a short line.

"Looks like we're fairly lucky today, huh?" he asked as Yuu came up to him. "Found a table early and the line is short with no one behind me."

"Is it normally longer?"

"Yeah. One time it went all the way out into the hall...oh, is that them?"

Yuu turned towards the direction that Kenichi was pointing to to see Madoka entering the cafeteria with her friends. It seems she saw him too as she waved over in his direction before leading her friends to the line as well.

"You three sure saw us fast," Kenichi said.

"That's because Yuu-kun's hair kind of stands out," Madoka said, looking at her cousin's head.

"You don't often see middle schoolers with white hair after all," Hitomi added.

"You sure it's natural?" Sayaka asked.

"_I don't want to hear that from you three!_" Yuu thought but he didn't have the guts to say that out loud. So instead he replied, "Yes it's natural."

"Talk later, order food now," Kenichi said, pointing towards the counter.

"Agreed!" Sayaka said, thrusting a hand into the air.

* * *

"All right," Kenichi said as the group sat around their table. "Time for introductions so let's go clockwise. Class 3-2 Katou Kenichi."

"Um, Tomoe Mami, the same."

"Narukami Yuu, same."

"Kaname Madoka, Class 2-2."

"Shizuki Hitomi, of the same class."

"Miki Sayaka, the same as these two."

"All right, now we know each others names...and I have no idea where to go from here..."

"Huh, what kind of host are you?" Sayaka asked.

"A spontaneous one that is currently lacking ideas...oh I know, how superstitious are you guys?"

"Superstitious?" Mami repeated.

"Yeah, like there's this horror movie that's gonna play tonight from nine to midnight. They say if you watch at night while it's raining, the monster from the movie will come out and drag you into the movie world."

"Heh...I didn't you were the type to believe in kiddie stuff like that, Senpai," Sayaka said.

"Not really but I do like ghosts and stuff like that. So what do you think? Now it may or may not rain tonight, but why not try watching it anyway? It got pretty good reviews after all."

"I don't know..." Madoka muttered as she stirred her salad with her fork. "I'm not too good with scary movies..."

"It sounds really farfetched anyway," Sayaka added.

"What's wrong, scared? Afraid of a TV monster?"

"Yeah right! Fine, I'll watch your dumb movie."

"Sayaka-san, you shouldn't get provoked so easily like that," Hitomi said quickly.

"Come on, it's just a movie. You two better watch it to. Prove Katou-kun wrong."

"Ehhh...I don't want to watch a scary movie..." Madoka cried.

"Narukami-kun! You better make sure Madoka watches it."

"What about you Tomoe?" Yuu asked to Mami.

"Eh? W-well...if everyone else is watching it..." she replied, looking unsure if she really did want to watch it or not.

"Then it's settled!" Kenichi said. "The six of us will watch the movie tonight. And for proof we really did watch it, how about we repeat the scene that stands out the most?"

"Deal! The ones that don't watch have to treat the others to lunch tomorrow."

"Fine by me since I'm watching it anyway."

"And with that, the die was cast for Madoka's doom."

"Don't say it like that, Yuu-kun!"

* * *

"Don't stay up too late you two," Tomohisa said as he carried a sleeping Tatsuya upstairs.

""Okay""

"Uuu...how did it come to this?" Madoka cried as she and Yuu sat down on the couch in the living room, waiting for the movie to start with a bowl of popcorn between them.

"Aren't you curious about the movie?" Yuu asked as he started snacking on some popcorn.

"Honestly, I think I'd be just as happy without ever seeing this...but I don't want to pay for everyone's lunches either..."

"It's starting..." Yuu said as Madoka jumped and slowly turned her head toward the TV.

"At least it's not raining..." Madoka sighed, only for a flash of light to appear behind them from the window, causing them to turn around just as a thunderclap rang through the air.

"Wow, nice timing."

"Waaaahh...!"

"It's starting," Yuu said again as Madoka hugged one of the couch cushions tightly as the movie began, only to yelp and jump as "something" appeared on the screen for a moment and disappeared before she could get a good look at it. "What happened?"

"D-d-did you not see that?"

"I blinked."

Madoka stared at Yuu in disbelief for a moment before sighing and turning back toward the TV to continue watching the movie, while wondering just how Yuu could be so calm about...watching the people in the movie walking down a road in the pitch of darkness without so much as a flashlight.

"Oh, something's there..." Yuu noted as the camera switched to "something's" point of view and the music fell silent.

"Stop stop! Stop talking!" Madoka shrieked, looking like she was going to tear the cushion in half in complete fear.

And so, they began the long night of watching this short movie..

* * *

"Uwa...his face just melted from that scream..."

"Gyaaaaah!"

"I wonder if that could really happen to someone..."

"I don't want to find out!"

"I wonder if the internet knows..."

* * *

"Did she just pull her burned mouth open?"

"Noooooooo!"

"Huh? I'm pretty sure she did..."

"Yuu-kun you bully..."

"Huh?"

* * *

"Whoa!"

"What! What! What happened?"

"My leg fell asleep...Madoka? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You idiot!"

"Ow! What?"

"Idiot idiot idiot idiot!"

"Ow, don't hit me with that cushion! Madoka!"

"What?"

"Look."

"What is i-iiiiyaaaaaahhhhh!"

"Safe..."

* * *

"Hmm, I didn't care much for the ending," Yuu muttered as he stood up and stretched his arms while the credits started rolling. "Don't like when everyone dies in the end. What about you, Madoka?"

He turned to his cousin, only to see that sometime after the scene where one of the survivors had been crushed between a trap with reinforced glass walls, turning him into something little more than a quite visible blood and guts pancake and the end, that she had passed out.

"Madoka? Wake up. You shouldn't fall asleep here."

A thunderclap caught his attention as he looked out the window to see the rain still falling down without any signs of stopping. Hopefully it wouldn't continue in the morning he thought as he turned off the TV.

Taking out his cell phone to check the time he noted it was midnight. He should wake Madoka up and...huh?

Yuu looked up from his phone when the TV inexplicably turned on again, depicting a strange silhouette on it. It was showing someone wearing a long coat, with what seemed to be a scarf as he was doing some punches and kicks in the air before doing a pose where he was holding is left arm horizontally in front of his chest with his right arm parallel to his head, like some kind of superhero.

"What is this?" he wondered as he leaned closer to the TV.

"_I am thou..._" a voice called out to him as his head started hurting. "_Thou art I..._"

"W-what the...?" he gasped as he started losing his balance as his head began to grow dizzy.

"_Ye who shalt open the door..._"

Yuu's vision began to grow blurry as he place one hand on his head and stretched one out forward to try and grab something to keep his balance, only for something to grab onto him and pull him forward...into the TV!

"Gaaaah!" he let out a scream as his head was suddenly through the TV, just like Kenichi had warned him earlier.

* * *

"Uuu...did I fall asleep?" Madoka wondered as she rubbed her eyes. "Is the movie over Yuu-kun? Yuu-kun?"

Finally opening her eyes completely she blinked once and rubbed them again as she saw the scene in front of her. Her cousin, Narukami Yuu, currently had his flailing his leg around while having one arm on the TV stand while the rest of his body was...

"THE MONSTER GOT YUU-KUN!" she screamed as she jumped forward and ran up to him and grabbed onto his waist and started pulling as hard as she could. "I got you...I got you!"

But it was all for naught as they both were pulled through.

* * *

"Ow!"

"Uguh!"

The two of them landed with a thud on the floor of some strange looking place. It was impossible for them to see anything due to all the fog that was surrounding the area.

"W-where are we?" Madoka asked as she hid behind Yuu in fear.

"Inside the TV?" Yuu offered. "But it doesn't look anything like the movie. Is there the monster here too?"

"Hiiiii! Don't say things like that! In any case, how do we get out?"

The two of them looked up to see if they could locate where they fell down from but all they could see was the fog around them.

"No way...I can't see anything..." Madoka cried.

"Let's look around," Yuu said as he took a few steps forward, only to stop when he realized Madoka hadn't moved an inch. "Madoka?"

"Ah...right...sorry..." she said as she slowly lifted her leg up, only to put back down on the same spot. "Huh...? my legs won't move..."

It seems that she was too scared to move. Who could blame her. They were just dragged into the TV right when they finished watching a movie that was said to cause people to be pulled into the TV after all. He probably shouldn't have asked about a monster.

"Don't worry," Yuu said as he walked back and held his hand out to her. "I won't let it turn out like the movie, I promise."

Madoka looked at his hand and then up at his face before smiling softly at him.

"T-thank you," she said as she took his hand. He returned the smile and nodded as the two of them made their way through the fog, looking for any sign of an exit.

Yuu wasn't sure how long they had walked but it didn't seem like they making any progress. The fog didn't help either as he couldn't see two feet in front of his face. Naturally, that mean he couldn't see the wall either.

"Oomph!"

"Y-Yuu-kun?"

Yuu rubbed his nose as he took a step back to see what he had walked into.

"This is...?" he began as Madoka finally noticed just what he had hit.

"My house!" Madoka said as she ran forward and opened the door. "Did we get back?"

"Wait a minute, Madoka!" Yuu called out as she ran in through the door. "This looks..."

"That's no good you know," a voice called out to him from behind, causing him to turn around but he saw nothing there, even though the voice continued to speak. "It's dangerous for humans to walk around here. You should leave immediately before the Shadows get you."

"The what?" Yuu called out, only for a loud shriek from inside the house to catch his attention. Giving one last look around for the voice, he ran into the house to see Madoka standing in the hallway, looking at something in the fog.

She quickly turned around when she heard his footsteps and quickly ran behind him.

"W-what is that?" Madoka asked as she clung onto the back of Yuu's shirt.

The two of them couldn't quite make it out through all the fog but there was definitely something there. It seemed to have noticed them as well as it was currently walking towards them.

The thing in front of them was wearing a yellow long sleeved blouse with white frilly cuffs over a dark bluish black plaid skirt…the female version of their school uniform. But what was more jarring was the fact that the creature had its shoulder length pink hair tied up in two twin tails just like…

"Madoka?" Yuu asked, staring at his cousin's mirror. "There are two Madokas?"

"Eh?" Madoka gasped. "But I'm right here…"

"_Don't be so mean_," the other Madoka said with a pout. "_I am you after all._"

"Huh?"

"_This world is so interesting right?_" the creature continued, looking around for a moment before looking straight back at the pair, causing Yuu to notice how its eyes were a bright golden yellow instead of the dark pink that Madoka had. "_It's a whole new world for us to explore, just behind the TV. Compared to how life was before, this is so much more interesting right? And if anything dangerous were to happen, Yuu-kun would protect me, right?"_

"Madoka?" Yuu asked, looking at his cousin to see that her face was turning pale.

"_That's right, compared to me, Yuu-kun is so much more reliable. When the accident happened he was calm, cool, collected, and knew exactly what to do to save those people's lives. All I could do was just stand there and panic. Even Sayaka-chan went to try and help._"

"No…that's not…"

"_I'm an utter waste of space, completely worthless and useless. Yuu-kun has only been here for about a week and he's already seen as a hero. I've been here my whole life and I'm just a nobody. I'll just keep living on and on until I die, never helping anyone, never being useful._"

"Stop it!"

"_In the end…I am nothing…WE are nothing…_"

"No…you're not…you're not me! You can't be me!"

At this, the creature smiled as black wisps began spiraling around her.

"_Ahahahahaha! That's right! I'm not you anymore! I am my own self!_"

The wisps crashed into the creature as it vanished into the fog. Instantly, Yuu felt Madoka release her grip on his back and turned around to see the girl collapse in a heap at his feet.

"Oi, Madoka! What's wrong?" he asked, picking her up only to feel something looming over him. Turning around, he spotted something huge, looking down at him.

It was an enormous creature, almost the size of a skyscraper, made out of what looked like hundreds upon thousands of shadowy strings as it stretched its arms out to the heavens above.

"_**I am a Shadow! The true self!**_" it declared as it waved its arms back and forth. "_**I'll find meaning in my life by killing you both here!**_"

Yuu clicked his tongue as he picked Madoka up from the ground, threw her over his shoulder like a sack of flour, and made a break for it through the fog. While the girl was surprisingly light to carry, he was having trouble seeing where he was going as he desperately tried to keep his eyes from looking at her butt. Thankfully she had changed out of her school uniform and into her pajamas before they started watching the movie.

The fog was also making him hesitate with each step, lest he'd run into a wall again or something. But those hesitations built up as the creature, the Shadow, was already on top of them again.

"_**You can't run from me!**_" it shouted, bringing its arm down upon them.

Yuu jumped as far as he could while holding onto his unconscious cousin, just barely dodging the giant limb as dust and rubble kicked up around him, knocking him over as Madoka rolled away from him. It was going to be impossible to outrun this creature when he couldn't see what was going on around him.

"_Is this it?_" he wondered. "_Are we going to die here? No…I refuse to die…I can't die here!_"

Then, he felt it. The same feeling he had just before he was dragged into the TV. The feeling of a fire inside his chest trying to burst out.

"_I am thou…thou art I,_" came the voice like before. "_The time has come…for thou to open thy eyes…and call forth…that which lies within!_"

Then something appeared in his hand. It was a card depicting a white and black sun split into two halves. Flipping the card over, he saw it had an image of a human shaped figure holding a stick with a bag tied to the end with a dog trailing behind it over the number zero. Then, a bright light began to shine from the card, pushing back the Shadow and the fog surrounding him, showing him the full monstrous form of his enemy. Finally, a word forced itself out from deep inside him to his lips.

"Pe...ru...so…na…"

As if on instinct, his hand closed around the card and shattered it.

His body became enveloped in a blue flame as a giant figure at least eight meters tall rose out from the flames behind him. It was decked in all black with a jacket which reached down all the way to its ankles, gloves which had long steel nails over its fingers and over its head was a heavy steel plated helmet with gaps over its golden eyes. It was also wielding a long bladed pole arm in one hand.

"Persona…" Yuu repeated, understanding the name of this creature. "Izanagi!"

"_**Do you think that can save you?**_" Madoka's Shadow asked as it swung its arm down upon them again, only for Izanagi to put itself in front of the teens and swat the arm away with its weapon before flying upward towards the Shadow.

"Incredible…" a voice beside him said. Yuu quickly recognized it as the voice that had warned him about wandering around just before Madoka screamed. Turning his head, Yuu spotted a white creature sitting there looking up at Izanagi as it flew around the Shadow like a bee against a bear. "What an interesting person you are."

"What are you…?" Yuu asked, picking Madoka up again.

"I am Kyubey," the creature replied with a small bow. "While you are indeed powerful, I'm afraid it will not be enough to stop a Shadow that has grown to such an extent."

"What exactly is it? What is a Shadow?"

"Shadows are born from humans, and carry with them strong negative human emotions. Strong-willed Shadows attract lesser Shadows, which later create stronger Shadows…like that."

Kyubey turned his head just in time to see Izanagi get swatted out of the air and into the ground, and at the same time, Yuu felt like something had smashed into him from the front, knocking him off his feet and sending him and Madoka sprawling to the ground again, with him landing hard on his back.

"How…how do you beat it?" he choked out as he tried to sit back up.

"Normally you could kill them as you are now…but when they get this big, it won't be enough," Kyubey sighed. "Humans can't see through the fog in this world normally and you can't fight or defend against something you can't see."

"So what do I do?"

"It's simple. You should make a contract with me to be able to fight within this world."

* * *

Chapter's End Corner

**Harouki**: _Glaciers of ideas importing, to my friends then exporting_~

**Sayaka**: What the hell was that?

**Harouki**: An unhealthy dose of Author Trolling. Granted, I may have made Madoka a little too much of a scaredy cat. Or at least, made her express her fear more.

**Sayaka**: What the hell was with that ending?

**Harouki**: To guarantee that all the readers will come back for chapter three where we show what the contract is if its not Magical Girls.

**Sayaka**: You are a cruel, heartless, and inhuman monster.

**Harouki**: I aim to please. By the way, it seems that some authors are angry that Fanfiction is cracking down on lemon fics. I agree that removing them without warning is a harsh, but it is within their right to do so. Since November 20, 2008 (at the latest), the guidelines has plainly stated that "**Fanfiction does not accept explicit content, Fiction Rating: MA, and the rating is only presented for reference.**" You break the rules you suffer the consequences, that's how it always has been.

It is even in bright red letters.

Fanfiction requires that all their authors read the Guidelines before putting up a new story. People who write lemons either refuse to follow these instructions or otherwise outright IGNORED IT. Therefore, I have no sympathy to them other than the fact that some people, the small few that only put in lemon scenes as an after thought while writing a long and captivating story, lost their entire story without warning. To the people who write nothing but one shot lemons...well, you should have read the damn guidelines then, shouldn't you?

It may sound harsh, but that's how it is. I repeat, you break the rules, you suffer the consequences.

Besides, one should always back up EVERYTHING one creates just in case stuff like this happens anyway.

Tune in next time to see what happens! Bye bee!


	3. Chapter 3: Open Thy Eyes

**Chapter 3: Open Thy Eyes**

* * *

"A…contract?" Yuu asked the strange creature that called itself Kyubey.

"Yes," Kyubey nodded. "The terms are that I will give you the power and ability to see through the fog of this world and to fight the larger Shadows on equal ground while you find out what suddenly has them all riled up like this."

"The power to fight…?"

"You better hurry…it seems that the Shadow is about to come back for the kill. Simply state your name to accept the contract."

Yuu turned his head and saw that the Shadow had raised both its hands up and was slowly bringing them down upon him and Madoka. With no other choice lest both of them die here, there was only one thing for him to do.

"That contract…I, Narukami Yuu, accept it!"

Instantly, another burst of blue flame appeared around him, blocking the Shadow's attack as Izanagi pried itself out of its crater and flew in front of Yuu with its hand outstretched.

"Contract established," Kyubey recited mechanically. "Holder: Narukami Yuu. Terms: With the power to fight Shadows, find out the cause for the unrest. Time limit: None. Power granted: Synchronization with Holder's Persona."

"Synchro!" Yuu called out as he grabbed Izanagi's hand. "Izanagi!"

The Persona changed back into a card as the flames closed in around Yuu's body. The card hovered for a moment in over Yuu's hand before shooting straight into his chest, causing the blue flames to explode once more. This time, instead of Izanagi reappearing, Izanagi's weapons and armor was now donned upon Yuu's body except instead of a full plated helmet over his head, it was simply an iron mask around his eyes.

Yuu felt a heavy heat burst out from his body as he pulled on his collar and panted deeply. This was his new power, what he needed to protect himself and Madoka. Another thing he noticed, was the fog around him seemed to have all but vanished following this strange transformation.

"_**And just what is that supposed to do?**_" the Shadow screamed as it swung its arm down on him once more. Yuu calmly held the pole arm up and swung it at the oncoming fist. Unlike with Izanagi where the Persona had only managed to knock it over to the side, Yuu managed to cleave right through the Shadow's hand, causing it to scream in pain. "_**Impossible!**_"

"Zio!" Yuu called out, extending his hand out towards the Shadow, causing a lightning bolt to strike from the sky through the Shadow's body, causing it to scream and writhe in pain. Taking this chance, Yuu forced his energy below his feet and jumped high into the air, landing on the stump of the Shadow's arm and began to race up the limb like a mountain goat.

"_**You impudent human!**_" the Shadow roared, bringing its other hand down upon him.

"Cleave!"

With another mighty swing of his weapon, Yuu managed to split the hand in two just as it came down upon him, leaving him standing in between the split ends of the hand as the Shadow screamed in pain once more.

"Where is it…?" Yuu wondered as he continued to run up the Shadow's arm. "Where is its weak point? Over there?"

Turning his head, he spotted a large gap in the Shadow's chest. Within the gap, he saw a strange silver crystal with black fog looming around inside it.

Leaping from the arm he extended his hand once again towards the gap.

"Zio!" he said, snapping his fingers while pointing his index at the gap, causing a lightning bolt to shoot at an angle from the clouds above him into the gap. The Shadow once again roared in pain as it began to leak out the dark wisps from earlier.

"Now!" Yuu shouted as he held his blade behind his back over his shoulder as he leaped up into the sky. "_**The light that births those that live under the heavenly sky...Tengun no Tsurugi!**_"

For a brief moment, Yuu thought he saw his clothes glow white as his blade cleaved through the Shadow's body, causing it to lose all the dark wisps it had collected as it returned to its original form.

Then with a loud crash, Yuu landed back on the ground in a low crouch as he scrunched his face up from the pain. Looking down at himself, he noted that his feet and the hand he used to help brace himself were embedded into the ground.

"Need to…work on…landings…" he muttered as he wrenched his feet and arm out of the ground while using his weapon as a crutch. "Wait…Madoka!"

Turning around, he spotted his cousin slowly waking up. The girl lifted herself up from the ground and shook her head before turning her eyes at him.

"Yuu-kun?" she asked, her eyes widening in a mixture of shock and confusion. "What are you wearing…? Where did…?"

She looked around and once again saw the Shadow in front of her and immediately started to push herself away from it.

"No…I'm not…"

"It's okay," Yuu said as he walked over to her and helped her to her feet. "You don't need to deny it…if it really is you then you need to face yourself…"

Madoka looked into Yuu's eyes for a moment before turning towards the Shadow and taking a few steps closer to it with Yuu right behind her.

"I…I was jealous of you, Yuu-kun," she admitted. "You have a lot of hobbies and you're always calm no matter what happens. Even when you got your head stuck in the TV last night you were able to signal me to help pull you out even as I was panicking…me on the other hand…I'm clumsy, I panic easily and I can't do anything by myself. I've always relied on my friends to help me, even you…even now…I can't..."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Yuu said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "That's what friends are for. To help each other out when you need it. Besides, you helped me too."

"I did?" Madoka asked, turning to face him.

"Yeah. I was able to be brave to keep you safe. Without you I would have been stuck. Being clumsy and slow isn't a bad thing. It makes you cute."

"Is that right...? But I didn't say anything about me being slow..."

"Ah...um..."

"I see...so that's what Yuu-kun thinks about me..."

"I'm sorry..." Yuu said with a small cough as Madoka turned back towards her Shadow and walked forward until she was right in front of it.

"You are me…" she said finally. "The me I tried to ignore and hide…the me I am ashamed off. But in the end, you are me…and I am you."

The Shadow seemed to smile a bit as it nodded. The Shadow's body seemed to fade away as it was replaced by a taller figure in a pure white figure in a pink and white kimono with black chain mail underneath the fabric. The figure, the Persona, was also wielding a long bow, the size of its body.

Then the Persona vanished, leaving behind only a card that had a pair of eyes over a flame and a pair of hands with the number one on it which slowly floated into Madoka's chest. Madoka's strength to face herself has been made manifest, allowing her to obtain the façade used to overcome life's hardships, the persona Inahime.

Immediately, Madoka slumped backwards towards the ground as Yuu caught her.

"Hee hee…I guess I'm a little tired…" she said with a small smile.

"That's to be expected," Kyubey said as it hopped onto Madoka's lap. "Humans can't stay in this word for long after all."

"You are…?"

"My name is Kyubey. I work here."

"I see…nice to meet you, Kyubey. My name is Kaname Madoka."

"It's nice to meet you too, Madoka. Normally I'd ask you to make contract and help Yuu in finding the reason behind this recent restlessness of the Shadows but you look like you need your rest."

"That's fine and all but how do we get out?" Yuu asked as Izanagi's armor and blade vanished, leaving him in his night clothes again.

"That's easy."

Kyubey hopped off of Madoka's lap and ran around in front of the two of them three times as a stack of three TVs appeared in front of them.

"You could use this to head back the way you came in."

"From the TV in our house?" Yuu asked as he helped Madoka to her feet.

"If that's where you two came in from, then yes, from there."

"Then, are you ready to go, Madoka?"

"Yes…let's get out of here…"

"Come back soon. You have to fulfill your contract after all," Kyubey said as the world of fog vanished around them, only to be replaced by the empty TV living room of the Kaname Household.

"Looks like we're back," Yuu said as the two of them looked around.

"Yeah…" Madoka nodded before looking at Yuu. "Huh? When were you wearing glasses?"

"Glasses?"

Yuu reached up to touch his face and finally noticed the pair of black rimmed glasses over his eyes. He took them off and looked them over.

"Perhaps it's part of the contract?" Yuu thought. "I was suddenly able to see through the fog in that world. Maybe these glasses are the reason?"

"Uuu...I don't get anything anymore..." Madoka cried. "I just want to go to sleep!"

"Yeah, same here," Yuu thought as he stood up. "Then, good night."

"W-wait a moment!"

Yuu blinked as he turned back around to Madoka, who was still sitting on her knees, looking up at him.

"What?"

"Umm...can you help me a bit more? My legs kinda gave out when we returned..."

"What happened to doing things yourself?"

"Tomorrow! I'll start tomorrow after a good night's sleep and forget about this scary night!"

* * *

**Wednesday, April 15th: Raining**

"T-the weather's been pretty bad lately, huh, Hitomi?" Sayaka asked her friend as the two of them waited under their umbrellas for the cousins to show up for school.

"I-it has been pretty dark lately hasn't it?" Hitomi replied, looking over her shoulder nervously.

"H-haha, what's wrong? Did the movie scare you?"

"O-of c-c-course not! I just feel like someone is watching me...and you're legs are shaking..."

"T-t-that's because it's cold out! It's not like I'm scared or anything! Ahahahaha-gaaaah!"

Sayaka was cut off from the middle of her laugh when someone placed their hand on her shoulder, causing her to scream and jump back.

"N-N-N-Narkumai-kun! What the heck was...what happened to you two...?" she asked, cutting short her curse when she looked at Madoka and Yuu, who both had dark bags under their eyes.

"We didn't..." Madoka began as she her body was swaying slightly.

"...get much sleep last night..." Yuu finished, nodding his head up and down.

Yuu's body was aching from the fight last night, especially since in his adrenaline-pumped state he was pushing his body to the limit to protect himself and Madoka, while Madoka had simply been too afraid of the dark to sleep, seeing "shadows" everywhere.

"Was the movie too scary for you?" Hitomi asked.

"Something like that," Madoka nodded.

"Movie wasn't...afterward, yes..." Yuu replied.

Since Yuu had woken up with the glasses that he received from the creature called Kyubey sitting on his desk where he had left it in the middle of the night, it seems that their little adventure into the TV world wasn't a dream. Still they decided to keep it to themselves. After all, who would believe them if they said it?

"So did Madoka actually watch it?" Sayaka asked.

"She watched it. And screamed. Then watched so more. Then screamed some more. She screamed the loudest when she saw the glass wall trap scene...though she did come close when..."

"Stop stop stop! I don't need to run through the movie again!"

"Can we just get to school?" Madoka asked, barely registering the conversation around her. "I want to rest before homeroom..."

The other three nodded, eager to get out of the rain and open street.

* * *

When Yuu entered his classroom, he spotted Mami and Kirika already in their seats amongst the other students. Kenichi was there too, talking to Mami about something that seemed to have caused the blonde girl's face to become a pale white. Probably about the movie if anything else. Though for some reason, Kirika seemed to be glancing over at them frequently. Was she interested in the subject too?

"Yo, Narukami!" Kenichi said as he got out of Yuu's desk so he could sit down. "So? Was the movie awesome or what?"

"I enjoyed it," Yuu replied, setting his bag down. "Though some scenes were a bit confusing to me. Can someone's face really melt that way?"

"Who knows. I certainly don't want to find out anyway. So did the second years watch it?"

"Yeah."

"Damn, so no one loses. Oh well, at least everyone saw it."

And with that, Kenichi returned to his seat, as Mami let out a relieved sigh.

"Was he bothering you?" Yuu asked.

"N-no it's not like that," Mami denied quickly. "It's just...he's a little...enthusiastic about it."

"So did you enjoy the movie?"

"Not at all," Mami replied immediately causing Yuu to let out a nervous laugh. "Although...I did see something...weird after the movie..."

"Weird?"

"I saw a shadow on the TV...or was it inside it? But it was doing some poses...kind of like a super hero or something."

"Did you...?"

"Yes...I asked Katou-san what it meant, but he didn't know since he didn't see it himself. Although he did say that the poses reminded him of a Kamen Rider..."

"U-umm..."

The two of them turned to look at Kirika, who seemed to have finally spoken up, only to shrink back slightly at the sudden attention.

"Yes, Kure-san?" Mami asked.

"Umm...did you see that shadow at midnight...?" Kirika asked.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"T-then, that might be the 'Midnight Channel.'"

"Midnight Channel?" Yuu repeated. "What's that?"

"It's...um...it's a kind of fortune telling my friend told me about. She said that if you look into an off television at midnight alone then it comes on. Supposedly, whoever appears on it is...your...um..."

"My what?"

"Umm...your...soul mate..."

At that, both Mami's and Kirika's faces lit up light a red sun as they turned their heads away from each other while Yuu only blinked in confusion.

"Soul mate? From a TV?" Yuu asked. "Like a crystal ball?"

"I-I don't really know all the details," Kirika said quickly. "I never tried it myself..."

"Why n-"

Yuu's question was cut off when the bell rang, causing everyone to hurry to their seats before the Katou came in and homeroom started.

Kirika didn't speak to him at all for the rest of class and Mami seemed to be mulling over the new information with flushed cheeks. Though for some reason, Yuu occasionally felt Mami staring at him for long periods at a time before returning her attention to the teacher. Of course, he never actually saw her looking at him.

Perhaps he was just being self conscious, but he was starting to feel that he was forgetting something important that happened last night.

* * *

Come lunch time, the third years gathered up with the second years for another group lunch. Right now, Yuu and Mami were retelling the story that Kirika told them.

"Huh? Midnight Channel?" Kenichi asked looking up from his ramen.

"Heh...that's kind of interesting..." Sayaka muttered thoughtfully.

"Is it?" Yuu asked. "I don't get it."

"What you're not into fated love?"

"Should middle schoolers believe in that? We're still young."

"It's because we are young that we should believe in that! Stop sounding like an old man!"

"More late night TV stuff?" Madoka asked with a sigh. "After last night I just want to stop watching TV altogether."

"Sorry...I didn't think it would scare you that much," Kenichi said quickly. "But hey, at least you weren't dragged into the TV or anything right?"

"R-right..." Madoka said, turning her eyes away from her senior.

"So Tomoe-senpai, do you remember anything about the shadow you saw?" Hitomi asked, wanting to know just how detailed the image of the so called soul mate was.

"Umm..." Mami began as she tried to remember the image. "It was pretty fuzzy so it was hard to tell...but I do remember that it was a boy wearing a jacket and scarf of some sort."

"Jacket and scarf?" Kenichi repeated as he tapped the side of his head in thought. "You think it's that hero everyone's been talking about lately? Think he's your soul mate? You okay dude?" he added as he turned to Yuu who suddenly started coughing.

"Kuh...koff...koff..." Yuu hacked as Madoka pounded his back as his classmates looked at him with worry while Sayaka gave him a smirk while Hitomi covered her mouth with her hand. "Went up wrong path...napkin please..."

"Ahh, I hate it when that happens," Kenichi nodded sympathetically as Mami handed Yuu a napkin. "Anyway...why would your soul mate be some kid on the news...?"

Kenichi's eyes moved over to the crutches that were leaning on the wall as a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

"Ahhh..."

"So do you like heroes or something, Mami-san?" Sayaka asked.

"I don't know," the blonde replied honestly. "But I suppose I don't hate them..."

"Oho, I see, I see. So are we all going to try it tonight then?"

"Eh, why not?" Kenichi asked. "You all humored me with the movie so I'll try this Midnight Channel thing or whatever. Well provided that it continues raining into the night of course."

"Bleh...first time I actually want it to keep raining," Sayaka sighed.

"Maybe it will stop once school ends and continue at night?" Yuu offered.

"If only we're that lucky," Sayaka sighed as she sipped on her drink, only to clamp her eyes shut when the sunlight flared through the clouds.

"Ah, it stopped raining," Yuu noted idly as everyone else stared out the window in disbelief. "The new weather girl is amazing."

"You actually watch those?" Kenichi asked.

"It's important to watch the news," Hitomi said. "Though I've never really paid attention to the weather reports myself. They usually got them wrong last year. Maybe only 75% correct...?"

"I haven't watched the weather report since they said it was sunny on the day I planned my outing only for it to rain all day," Sayaka sighed. "Ah, speaking of the news, what do you guys think about that truck driver from that car accident a week ago being found dead?"

"That this city has suddenly gotten a lot more dangerous?" Kenichi offered. "Not much of a first impression huh, Narukami?"

"It's still a nice city," Yuu replied before thinking to himself, "Once you get past the fact that your TVs eat people..."

"Anyways, its settled then!" Sayaka said as she stood up. "We'll all try the midnight channel tonight and meet back here tomorrow."

* * *

The hours dwindled away and school eventually came to an end.

Yuu quickly packed his bags so he could meet up with the others to walk home when Mami suddenly called out to him.

"Excuse me, Narukami-san?" she asked. "Are you doing anything later today?"

"No," Yuu replied. "Well, unless you count the Midnight Channel thing."

"T-then, would you like to walk home together?"

Yuu blinked at the sudden offer. He had no reason to decline but then he wasn't even sure their houses were even in the same direction.

"Do you live in the west side of the city too?"

"Oh...no, I live on the east end. I...guess that wouldn't be too practical would it?" she asked.

"Probably not," Yuu replied as he stood up, his eyes falling onto her crutches. "But I can walk with you to the gate if you'd like."

"Yes, I'd like that a lot."

"Then, let's go."

Picking up Mami's bag for her, Yuu headed for the door with Mami following close behind.

"Ah, Narukami-san, we can use the elevator," Mami said as she stopped in front of the elevator.

"Oh, right. Don't want to fall again."

The two of them got inside and Mami pressed the G button and the elevator started to move.

"Oh right," Yuu said as he looked at the console and pressed the 2 button.

"Narukami-san?"

"Just picking up a few people. I'm sure they won't mind."

The elevator stopped on the second floor and the door opened up. Sticking his head out, Yuu spotted Madoka and her friends.

"He's still not here?" Madoka asked.

"He sure is taking his time today isn't he?" Sayaka asked as she looked up the staircase.

"Perhaps he's helping Tomoe-senpai?" Hitomi offered.

"Right on the second two counts," Yuu said, causing the three of them to jump.

"Gah, stop doing that!" Sayaka shouted as she turned around. "Wait...what are you doing in the elevator? I thought that was for teachers only?"

"Our homeroom teacher lent a key to me," Mami said as she looked out as well.

"So we get to use the elevator? Awesome."

"Is it okay?" Hitomi asked.

"No one said we couldn't," Yuu pointed out as they got on. "If we can't then we'll just apologize and not do it again."

"Are we going to be okay?" Madoka wondered as the elevator door closed.

But there doesn't seem to be any problem as one of the staff saw them step out of the elevator but didn't give them a second glance as they headed toward the staff room.

"Guess it was okay after all," Sayaka shrugged as she led the way out of the school.

"I guess I was worried about nothing," Madoka sighed as everyone followed Sayaka.

However, as soon as they crossed the gates, they were suddenly ambushed by what seems to be a mob of people holding cameras and microphones. Reporters.

"What the heck are you people doing?" Sayaka shouted as they ended up being pushed back toward the school, with Yuu holding onto Mami so she doesn't fall.

"You're Tomoe Mami, right?"

"What are your thoughts about the incident a few days ago?"

"Are you glad? Angry? Disappointed?"

"What is this?" Mami asked..

"Are these questions a journalist should be asking?" Hitomi asked as she tried to push herself between the reporters and Mami.

"Why are you even asking such things anyway?" Madoka asked as she did the same.

"You don't know?"

"The Tomoe Family's van was hit by the Aibara Moving Company truck and its driver was found dead yesterday."

"Eh?" Yuuki muttered. "Then from that time..."

"Even so, it does not give you the right to crowd around her like this," Hitomi said. "Please leave at once."

"Come on, it's just one little..."

But the reporter was cut off by a loud cracking noise. The source of it was the cameraman's camera being shattered by Sayaka using a...crutch.

"Oh my..." Mami gasped as Yuu turned to look at her, only to see that one of her crutches was missing. Though she doesn't seem to be bothered by it too much.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sayaka said, puling the crutch back, not looking sorry at all. "My hand slipped into your camera."

"W-why you..."

"What is going on here?"

Turning around, Yuu saw Katou-sensei walking up to them.

"This is private property," the teacher said as he stood between them and the crowd of reporters. "I must ask all of you to leave before I am forced to call the authorities for the safety of my students."

The reporters were less than happy at being denied their story, the one whose camera had been smashed even more so, but they had no choice but to comply to Katou's request.

Once he was sure that the reporters were long gone, Katou turned toward Yuu and the girls.

"Are you all okay?" he asked.

"Yes, Katou-sensei," Yuu replied with a nod. "Thank you."

Katou nodded before he turned toward Sayaka, who straightened up at his glance.

"You, what's your name?"

"M-Miki Sayaka," Sayaka replied.

"Then Miki...while you were doing it to keep them from going after Tomoe, I must ask you to not do that again in the future. If they had really wanted to, they could sue you for the damages done to their camera. Understood?"

"Yes sir..."

"Good, now get on home. It's too early in the year to get into trouble yet..."

With that, Katou sighed as he headed back into the school. Now that the crowd had thinned out, Yuu and Madoka bade their goodbyes and headed back home.

* * *

Later that night, Yuu peeked out of the curtain in his room as he watched the rain pouring down when someone knocked on his door.

"Yuu-kun?" Madoka asked as she opened the door. "Sayaka-chan just called me. She says she wants some of your future telling powers."

"I don't have future telling powers," Yuu replied absentmindedly. "I just listen to the weather girl. If anything, she has them."

"Ahaha..."

"Are you going to watch this Midnight Channel thing?" Yuu asked as he turned toward Madoka. "Or are you going straight to bed?"

"I'm...not sure if I really believe it," Madoka replied. "But since I said I would do it, I suppose there's no harm in trying it out."

"I see," Yuu nodded. "Then you should get to a TV soon. It's about a minute until midnight."

"Right. Goodnight, Yuu-kun."

"Goodnight, Madoka."

And as Madoka left, Yuu pulled his chair from his desk and sat in front of the small TV in his room, waiting for the clock to hit midnight.

No sooner did he hear the distant chime in the background did something appear on his usually blank TV screen, just like it did the other night when he had been dragged in.

The image was extremely fuzzy as before, but instead of someone doing super hero poses, Yuu could definitely see the visage of a girl, looking around. Her face wasn't clear but from the way she was quickly turning around, it was clear that she was either scared or very uncomfortable.

She was wearing what seemed to be the Mitakihara Middle School uniform and despite the off color of the screen, he believed her hair to be blonde with curls.

"Wait a minute..." Yuu gasped but, just as it appeared, the image vanished, leaving behind only a normal looking TV screen..

"What was..." Yuu began just as his door flew open.

"Y-Yuu-kun!" Madoka shouted. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah," Yuu nodded. "I saw a girl..."

"You too?"

"Too? Wait...Madoka...are you...?"

"I don't know! My soul mate is a girl? What is that supposed to mean?"

"What did she look like?" Yuu asked, trying to get more information. "Her hair color? Hairstyle? Anything that might help you recognize her?"

"I didn't see anything like that," Madoka replied as she shook her head. "All I saw was that she had our school uniform."

"That's...weird."

Looking back at the TV, Yuu reached his hand out and tapped the screen. The screen suddenly glowed white and began rippling as if he had disturbed a still puddle of water.

"Y-you're not thinking of going back there are you?" Madoka asked, grabbing onto his other arm. "What if another giant monster appears?"

"From what I saw, the girl seemed to be scared," Yuu replied. "What if the same thing that happened to us last night happened to her? And like you said, what happens if another giant monster appears? She'd be trapped all alone in there."

Madoka did not look happy. Whether it was from the thought of going back into the TV world or it was from the possibility of another girl being trapped inside the TV world, Yuu wasn't sure.

"Either way, I'm going," Yuu said as he pulled out his coat from his closet and put it on. "If I'm wrong then I'll ask Kyubey to send me back again. Either way, I should also find out more of this contract that I agreed to."

"W-wait," Madoka said as Yuu walked past her. "I want to come too."

"Are you sure?" Yuu asked as he turned around.

"Yes," Madoka nodded. "I have one too after all...a Persona. I don't know if I can fight like Yuu-kun can but I won't be completely useless."

"That's fine," Yuu replied with a smile. "Just being there is more than enough."

Madoka nodded as she quickly went back into her room to grab a coat as well.

A few minutes later, the two of them stood in front of the TV in the living room as Yuu reached his hand out and moved through the screen as if it was water, with Madoka holding his other hand as she allowed herself to be led through.

"Back so soon?"

Yuu looked up and saw something looking back at him through the fog. Pulling the glasses out of his pocket, he placed them on his face and immediately, his vision became much clearer.

"Kyubey," Yuu nodded.

"Good evening, Kyubey," Madoka nodded from behind Yuu.

"And to you as well, Kaname Madoka. What brings you here tonight?"

"I wish to know more about the contract," Yuu replied immediately.

"I see," Kyubey said as it walked in front of them. "Very well. The contract is for you to exterminate the out of control Shadows while finding out what exactly is causing them to lose control. In return, I will compensate you for each Shadow that you destroy."

"Compensate?" Madoka asked. "What do you mean? And what exactly is a Shadow?"

"Shadows are the manifestations of negative human emotion," Kyubey explained. "Anger, jealousy, loneliness, greed, pride...you saw it yourself didn't you, Madoka? Your jealousy of Yuu manifested into a Shadow that mimicked your form and tried to kill you."

Madoka flinched a bit at the reminder and Yuu felt her grip tighten around his hand.

"However, thanks to Yuu here, your Shadow was able to calm itself down and turn into a Persona, something that you humans can use to fight and defeat Shadows. Which leads me to my work here. I keep track of all the Shadows in this world and when Shadows get a little too big, we have to get people to exterminate them and collect the human emotions contained inside them for energy. However, lately the Shadows have been getting a lot more agitated than usual. They're growing at a pace that hasn't been observed in quite some time. I suspect that several humans on your side are attempting to meddle in things even I do not understand. And I work here."

"And the compensation?" Yuu asked.

"Money of course," Kyubey replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "This is a job after all and you humans tend to be compensated with money, right? Therefore, we pay you as an incentive to keep coming back to exterminate the Shadows...speaking of which..."

Kyubey then turned around, showing Yuu a large red circle on his back. To Yuu's surprise, the circle opened up and four coins shot out from it, landing down at his feet. He bent over and picked them up. They were all five hundred yen coins.

"Madoka's Shadow's monstrous form was created when multiple shadows gathered together so it was worth quite a lot," Kyubey said. "Therefore, two thousand yen should cover it."

"That's...a little...little for such a dangerous job, isn't it?" Madoka asked.

"Was it?" Kyubey asked, cocking his head. "Once Yuu formed the contract, he defeated your Shadow almost immediately, didn't he? The Shadow was large, there is no denying that, however that is it. It was also extremely slow and when contracted, Yuu could easily outmaneuver it. The contract is there for a reason."

"I suppose so..." Yuu said as he examined the coins before holding two out to his cousin. "Here, Madoka. Your share."

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Madoka asked. "I didn't do anything to get that!"

"But I wouldn't have got it if you weren't with me."

"And we wouldn't have been so close to dying if I hadn't been with you..."

"Exactly, and I wouldn't have gotten the money then."

Madoka gave him a small pout before finally giving in and holding her palm out to him for him to hand her the coins.

"Come to think of it...you also have a Persona too, don't you Madoka?" Kyubey asked. "Would you like to form a contract as well? You will be paid separately from Yuu."

"What does that mean?" Madoka asked.

"For example: If you help each other defeat a Shadow worth one hundred yen, you both will receive one hundred yen rather than just fifty. We do this to promote cooperation between our contracts. We have come to understand that you humans are very greedy and competitive at the same time so we hope this form of payment will keep you from fighting each other."

"I don't think we'd fight over something like money anyway," Madoka sighed as she put the coins in her pocket. "But...I want to help Yuu-kun in any way possible. So...Kyubey. I, Kaname Madoka, will accept your contract as well."

"Very good," Kyubey nodded. "First of all can you summon your Persona?"

"Umm...how do I do that?" she asked as she turned to Yuu.

"Umm...I'm not really sure how I did it myself," Yuu replied as he held out his hand. "Just try picturing a card and then shatter it like glass."

As soon as he said it, a card fell down in front of him as the face of the black and white sun appeared below his feet, surrounded by blue fire.

"Persona!" he shouted as he crushed it with his hand, causing a pillar of blue fire to erupt around him. Seconds later, Izanagi appeared from behind Yuu, looking down towards them all.

"Wow...that's...big," Madoka said as she craned her neck to look up at Izanagi. She then screwed up her face in concentration. "Umm...imagine a card..."

No sooner had she said it, a card fell down in front of her as did the circle of fire and the black and white sun.

"Per...sona!"

Madoka brought the card to her mouth and for some reason, blew at it, causing the card to shatter as her Persona, Inahime, rose out in a column of blue fire. The giant kimono clad Persona was around the same size as Izanagi, albeit a head shorter, with a bow in one of its hands.

"This is...my Persona," Madoka said as she turned around and looked at Inahime, who looked back down at her just as Kyubey began to speak in the same mechanical tone that he used when forming the contract with Yuu.

"Contract established. Holder: Kaname Madoka. Terms: With the power to fight Shadows, find out the cause for the unrest. Time limit: None. Power granted: Synchronization with Holder's Persona."

"Synchro!" Madoka shouted as Inahime wrapped her arms around Madoka's neck with Madoka placing her own hands on them. "Inahime!"

The persona vanished in a pink flame and bathed her body in a pink light as pink gloves appeared on the girl's outstretched hands followed by red shoes and white stockings on her legs and ending with her fluffy pink dress.

Madoka blinked once the transformation ended as she looked down at herself.

"Wow, this looks really cute!" she said as she gripped the hem of her dress.

"Wait..." Yuu said. "That's a little different..."

"Synchronization only allows you to use and amplify the powers of your Persona," Kyubey explained. "The clothing that forms when you Synchronize comes from an image inside your head. This is the strongest image in Madoka's mind, just as your Persona's armor is the strongest image in your mind."

"I see..." Yuu muttered before looking up at Izanagi before looking back at Madoka. "What is it?"

"These clothes?" Madoka asked and Yuu nodded. "Ahh...I sometimes imagine myself as a...cal...ril..."

Her voiced trailed off as she suddenly seemed embarrass at what she was trying to say.

"Imagine yourself as what?" Yuu asked.

"A...Magical Girl..." Madoka repeated as she pressed her index fingers together shyly.

"Ah...what's wrong with that?"

"Isn't it weird? A fourteen year old still wanting to be a Magical Girl?"

"Not really. Considering magic really does exist after all."

At his words, Izanagi pointed a finger off in the distance and a lightning bolt struck the area he pointed at, leaving a small crater.

"I guess so...wait, remember why we're here!" Madoka said quickly. "Kyubey...can you tell if there is anyone else in this place besides us and shadows?"

"You mean another human?" Kyubey asked, tilting its head. "There is a small chance there might be."

"So I was right..." Yuu muttered as Madoka clasped her hands over her mouth. "Do you know where she is?"

"I am not a hundred percent certain. A strange place appeared a few minutes before you two arrived so I haven't been able to investigate it yet."

"Can you take us there?" Madoka asked as she reverted back to normal. "Ah...I can't see..."

"Here are your contract glasses," Kyubey said as a pair of glasses appeared in front of Madoka. "If you want to see where this strange new place is...then follow me."

Madoka placed the glasses over her eyes and turned to Yuu, who nodded, as they quickly ran after the tiny white creature.

What they saw at the end of the road was...interesting to say the least.

"A...gingerbread house?" Madoka asked as the three of them stared up at the faint sweet smelling building that reached up toward the sky.

"Rainbows are coming out of the windows..." Yuu muttered. "Kyubey...why is this place completely different from Madoka's house?"

"It's because of the person that is here," Kyubey replied. "Seeing this strange place confirms that there is indeed another human here. Like the Contract Synchronization Armor, this world will shape itself to the person that has fallen in here."

"Then...why didn't anything change for me?" Yuu asked as he pointed to himself.

"I do not know. And that is why you interest me and why I have offered to form a contract with you. You are an anomaly, but one that I can use to find the reason to why the Shadows are acting like this...and why humans are suddenly being dragged into this world."

"Dragged into...like us?" Madoka asked.

"No...we kind of fell into it, remember?" Yuu said.

"I was passed out! When I woke up, I saw that you had half your body inside the TV!"

"Oh, right...well I kind of got a headache and tried to get a grip on the TV but touched the screen instead. So I fell in and couldn't pull myself up. Then you grabbed me and I lost my footing."

"You're saying it's my fault then?"

"No, you couldn't have known after all."

"So, are you two going?" Kyubey asked. "Your contract requires you to investigate this disturbance."

"Do we have to go now?" Madoka asked.

"No, only that you must go at some point."

"What do you think, Yuu-kun?"

"Will the person be in any danger?" Yuu asked.

"No. Shadows only attack people that have a Persona like the two of you on sight or when the fog lifts in this world. When it is foggy in your world, the fog disappears in this world. It will be perfectly fine to leave the person here as long as you come back before the fog lifts. I understand that humans can survive quite long without food or water but it will be detrimental to their health."

"I see...how about we come back tomorrow, Madoka?" Yuu suggested.

"But didn't you want to help her?" Madoka asked. "Isn't that why we came here in the first place?"

"Yes...but...it's almost two in the morning. If we fight while we are tired, we won't save anyone. We could head here right after school and save her."

"I suppose so..." Madoka admitted. "Like I though, Yuu-kun is very dependable."

"Is that right?" Yuu asked, not really getting it.

"Very well," Kyubey nodded. "It is best to only go in once you are absolutely prepared. If you wish to save the person, then make sure you come back _before_ the fog hits."

"There's no problem about that. We'll be back in the afternoon."

"Then...goodnight."

* * *

**Thursday, April 16th: Raining**

Yuu woke up the next morning feeling extremely anxious. He wanted to skip school and head straight into the TV and save the girl. But the fog usually comes after the rain and it was still raining today so the girl should still be safe. Scared out of her mind probably, but still safe. At least, that's what Kyubey said and there really isn't a reason for it to lie.

Yuu smacked his hands on his cheeks to wake himself a bit more before pulling on his school uniform and heading out to do his morning ritual and headed down for breakfast.

When he arrived, down at the table he saw that only Tomohisa was down there as usual.

"Good morning, Oji-san," he said.

"Good morning, Yuu," Tomohisa said.

"Is everyone still asleep?"

"Probably. Do you mind waking them up? Breakfast will take a little longer."

"Okay."

Turning on his heel, Yuu ran back up the stairs, stopping at Madoka's room first.

"Madoka, are you awake?" Yuu asked as he opened the door.

Madoka, in fact, was indeed awake. Judging by how wide her eyes were, she was completely awake. She also happened to be in the middle of changing her clothes.

The two cousins looked at each other in the eye for several seconds before Yuu broke contact and looked down...which he realized immediately was a mistake.

Madoka had been undressing with her back to the door, which meant that he had a picture perfect view of her underwear. All things considered, he was probably very lucky on that regard.

He didn't know what he was thinking. Perhaps he just wanted to say something to break the awkward silence between the two of them. But perhaps it wasn't a good idea to say exactly what was on his mind at that point in time.

"Bear print?"

So much for that.

Madoka's eyes begin tearing up as she started screaming throwing everything within arms reach at Yuu, ranging from the stuffed animals on her bed to the pillows and one piece of furniture.

"Madoka! Don't throw a chair!"

"OUT! OUT! OUT!"

* * *

"I'm sorry..."

"Humph..."

"Madoka..."

"It's too late for apologies."

The two of them walked down their usual path to the school. Madoka was walking a fair bit behind Yuu, refusing to talk to her cousin. At first she had been walking in front of him, but then had him walk in the front once they got to the hill, no doubt not wanting him to see her underwear again.

The rainy weather also did little to improve her move.

"Hey, Madoka! Narukami-kun!"

Sayaka's voice snapped the two of them out of their awkward silence.

"Is something wrong?" Hitomi asked.

"No, nothing's wrong," Madoka said, pushing her way past Yuu to her friends. "Let's go."

"Did something happen, Narukami-senpai?" Hitomi asked Yuu instead to which the boy turned his head to the side.

"I fell off my bed," Yuu replied. "While dreaming that a bear was attacking me."

From the corner of his eye, he spotted his cousin whipping her hand behind her back before puffing her cheeks at him in anger while Hitomi simply giggled into her hand.

"Oh yeah, so did you see that Midnight Channel thing?" Sayaka asked.

"I did, I saw something but I couldn't tell what it was," Hitomi nodded.

"Yeah it was just some strange shadow thing wasn't it?" Sayaka asked. "What about you two?"

"Just a shadow for us as well," Yuu said as Madoka looked at him. "Perhaps it only shows us who it is if we've already met them?"

"I doubt that," Sayaka said immediately, causing Yuu to raise an eyebrow. "I admit that the Channel is suspicious but since none of us really saw anything clear it probably doesn't show our soul mate. Yeah, that's definitely it."

The adamant denial was certainly strange. Did she have someone she liked and refused to believe she didn't see them on the TV or did, she like them, saw a girl on the TV and refused to believe that she was her soul mate? Well, it's not like Yuu really believe in the whole soul mate thing anyway.

* * *

"So, did ya see it?"

Kenichi had came up to Yuu the moment he sat down at his desk.

"I saw...something," Yuu replied. "Not sure what though."

"I saw something too," Kenichi nodded with his hand on his chin. "She had shoulder length hair and was wearing our uniform. I also want to say that she was blonde too but that could be just because I saw Tomoe on the news earlier and I don't think she's my soul mate. Hell I barely ever spoke to her last year and am only do so now through you...she has...or rather had this air around her that makes it hard to approach her you know? Not that it's a bad one, it's like she's on a whole different level of grace from the rest of us. Speaking of Tomoe, she doesn't seem to be here yet, huh? Probably didn't want to show herself and be ambushed by people asking her questions about that accident. Don't reporters understand the meaning of the word privacy or do they just do whatever the hell they want for a story?"

But Yuu had already tuned Kenichi out as he turned toward Mami's seat. Indeed the girl wasn't in her seat but that could be because she was running late. She was using crutches after all. There was no way Mami was the one dragged into the TV...this wasn't some horror movie after all...

Who was he kidding. Of course it was Mami. He hadn't seen anyone else in his school who had blonde curled hair in the shape of drills after all.

Taking out his phone he sent a quick message to Madoka.

"_Katou thinks the girl was Tomoe._" he typed before he put the phone in silent mode and back into his pocket and turned his head up for the upcoming school day. "_I hope she's safe._"

Class ended and in the end, Mami never showed up making it even more likely that it had been her.

A random girl being pulled into the TV was one thing, but Yuu didn't think it would be someone he knew...kind of.

As soon as the bell rang, he grabbed his bag and flew out the door, ignoring Kenichi's offer to walk home together. He soared down the staircase three steps at a time as no one else had reached the staircase yet so he was able to.

He met Madoka on the second floor as the girl also had broken into a run the second the bell had rang.

"What do we do?" Madoka asked.

"Are there any TV's in this school?" Yuu asked.

"I don't know...wait, I think there should be one in the AV room..."

"Then let's go. Tomoe didn't come to school at all today so it might be her trapped in there after all."

Madoka nodded as she led the way back up the stairs.

The school was broken up into five floors.

The first floor contained the first years and staff rooms, the second floor contained the second years, and the third floor had the third years. The fourth floor had the school cafeteria, which was large enough to accommodate the entire student body, while the fifth floor contained the rooms for the various clubs the school had.

"Where exactly is the AV room?" Yuu asked as they ran down the fifth floor corridors.

"I don't remember," Madoka said. "I'm in the Gardening Club and Crafts Club after all..."

She pulled open a door and the two of them peered inside. It wasn't the AV room but there was a TV inside so it was good enough. Closing the door behind him, Yuu and Madoka looked around.

The room didn't seem to have been used in a long time. There was a fine layer of dust over everything, including the computer in the corner of the room. There was also various equipment lying around, one of them Yuu recognized as a tripod for a video camera as well as several microphones.

"Was this a Film Club?" Yuu asked.

"Maybe," Madoka muttered as she walked over to the TV. "Looks like we can fit in here.."

Yuu stepped up to the TV as Madoka pulled out her glasses and held it in front. Now that he had a chance to look, Yuu saw that they were yellow round half-rimmed glasses with a yellow tint to them.

Immediately, the TV began to flash black and white as if it was some kind of tunnel.

"Okay..." Madoka said as she took a deep breath and poked it with her hand. Her hand went right through the screen. Feeling a little bolder she poked her head through as well before pulling it back out. "It looks like it worked."

"Shall I go in first or did you want to?" Yuu asked.

Madoka thought about it for a moment before she stepped aside.

"You go," she said, as she placed her glasses over her eyes. "I don't want to risk a repeat of this morning, 'Mister I dreamed of bears.'"

"I wasn't going to peek you know," Yuu defended himself as he poked his head in and pulled himself through, rolling out on the other side.

"Welcome back," Kyubey said as it swished its tail back and forth. "Is Madoka not coming?"

"Umm...a little help?" she asked as she poked her head through the TV and held her hands out to Yuu, who sighed as he grabbed her and pulled her out of the TV gate. "Thank you."

"Kyubey, take us back to that gingerbread house," Yuu said.

"Of course, that's why you're here after all," Kyubey nodded as Yuu put his own glasses on and the two of them followed after the little white creature.

"Are you ready?" Yuu asked once they were in front of the gingerbread house with a red and black spiral portal where the entrance was.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Madoka nodded and the two of them stepped through the barrier with Kyubey right behind them.

"_Good Afternoon! And welcome to Mama Mami's Special Golden Time Tea Corner! I'm your host, Tomoe Mami!_"

The girl in front of them certainly did look like Tomoe Mami, except she was wearing a yellow green bonnet along with a green dress that seemed to emphasize her breasts. The sleeves stretched out past her hands and her yellow and white striped stockings ran up to her thighs.

"_Today we have two special friends on our program! Say hi you two!_"

"T-Tomoe-san?" Madoka asked.

"T-this is..." Yuu muttered as he gaped at the sight.

"_And that's them. Today's game is Hide and Seek! Be sure to do your best and find me you two! That's what friends do after all. See ya!_"

As Mami suddenly vanished in a poof of black smoke, the two of them just stood like statues.

"What...was that just now?" they asked at the same time.

* * *

Chapter's End Corner!

**Harouki**: Do you know what the hardest part about this story is?

**Sayaka**: Writing it down?

**Harouki**: Well...yes...but I'm talking about coming up with the various Persona for the different characters other than Yuu as well as their Shadow's crazy personality.

**Sayaka**: Like Miss Golden Tea Time up there?

**Harouki**: I am actually proud of that. It was crazy, weird, and completely random. Just like Yukiko popping up in a princess gown in the game and anime looking to score with a hot stud.

**Sayaka**: Right...wait...what are you going to do for...

**Harouki**: Uh-ah-ahh! That's a spoiler.

**Sayaka**: I swear...if you put me a humiliating position I will END you.

**Harouki**: Tempting. Anyway, I hope no one minds the whole "Synchro" thing too much. I was looking around some image sites and saw the original P4 cast in their Persona's clothes and I thought, "holy shit that looks awesome." And I've been wanting to do something like that for a long time, and this was my chance!

**Sayaka**: And yet, Madoka's Synchro looks just like her Magical Girl outfit?

**Harouki**: Meh...she just looks..._right_ in that outfit. I won't be that lazy for everyone else though.

**Sayaka**: Uh huh...

**Harouki**: Anyway, the largest anime convention in America, Anime Expo, is this week so updates will be put on even more of a halt as I prance around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Lelouch's clothes for the four days of the con. If any of you are going look for a Zero or an Emperor Lelouch wearing glasses. That will be me. If Crunchyroll is going to be streaming the convention again this year, I'll be hanging around there most of the time. See you all later!


	4. Chapter 4: Golden Time Lover

**Chapter 4: Golden Time Lover**

* * *

Yuu was standing in a strange place. It was pure white on the ground with a rainbow colored path that seemed to lead deeper into the fog. Around him were several large tea cups and above him was a ceiling made out of gingerbread. In the distance, he swore he could see some apple trees as well.

But he didn't really care about that right now.

He was still confused at that golden..._thing..._that looked like his classmate which had disappeared before he could really get more than two words in.

"That...couldn't have been Tomoe-san...right?" Madoka asked as she turned toward Yuu. "Maybe it's like what happened with me?"

"Indeed, that was a Shadow," Kyubey replied. "Strange. If it has appeared, I would have thought it would have killed the girl in here and taken a new form by now. Perhaps it only just appeared now since the Shadows have noticed your arrival?"

"What do you men by..." Yuu began but before he could say another world, several creatures began sliding through the walls, floors and ceiling. Several of them looked like two brown robed humanoid figures with blue masks impaled between three TV antennas, while others looked like giant floaing mouths with long slobbering tongues.

"Trance Twins and Lying Hableries," Kyubey explained. "The payment is 180 yen for each one you take down for each of you."

"Then...Madoka!" Yuu said as the cousins turned toward each other.

"Got it!" Madoka nodded as a pillar of blue fire surrounded the two of them.

""PERSONA!""

A pair of cards flew down in front of them before shattering as Yuu enclosed his hand around it while Madoka blew on it, allowing their Persona appear behind them.

Izanagi took the lead while Inahime nocking an arrow on her bow.

The black Persona shot forward like a bullet as it swung its blade down on the closest Twin, splitting it in two as well as cleaving through several of the trees that had been in the way. A second Twin shot towards the Persona, only to be defeated in a single shot as well. One more burst through the second's remains, only for Izanagi to kick it with its bladed geta.

Two of the Hableries charged Izanagi from behind, only for two pink arrows to zip through the air and pierce the shadows and causing them to fall to the ground like deflated balloons.

"Nice support," Yuu said as Madoka flashed him a "V" sign.

"Would you like to be paid now or shall I wait to the end?" Kyubey asked.

"We'll wait," Madoka replied as they ran down the rainbow path. Kyubey had hopped onto Madoka's shoulders so that it wouldn't be left behind. "But this place is really strange, don't you think, Yuu-kun?"

"It looks like a tea set," Yuu nodded. He looked over his shoulder toward Kyubey. "Is there any reason for it?"

"Perhaps it was a strong image of the Shadow or the girl trapped in here materializing itself onto the world?" Kyubey suggested.

"Now that you mention it...that Shadow did say something about 'special friends' didn't she?" Madoka asked. "Does that mean anything?"

"Tomoe wants friends?" Yuu wondered as he thought back to what Kenichi had said about Mami. Perhaps it was because he just transferred or because Mami had been looking very exhausted form the accident, but he didn't see the grace Kenichi had been talking about. "Did you know her before a few days ago?"

"No, I only paid attention to the people in my class," Madoka admitted.

Yuu couldn't fault her for that. He only paid attention to Kenichi, Kirika and Mami in his own class too. He didn't even bother remembering the names of anyone else. Oh, there was that other girl too. Kenichi's friend. What was her name again? Sakura? Kyouko? Was it both?

"Yuu-kun, in front of you!" Madoka's voice shattered his train of thought.

"Izanagi!" Yuu shouted as Izanagi stopped and extended its hand forward, causing a thunder cloud to form in the air and shot a bolt of lighting toward a large group of Shadows, destroying several of them Hableries but the Twins passed through the lightning unharmed.

"Some Shadows are immune to some magic attacks," Kyubey said as a Twin smashed into Izanagi, knocking it, and by extension Yuu, over. "Do take note of that in the future."

"Kuh..."

"Yuu-kun!"

Madoka ran forward to help only for one of the Hableries to pop up in front of her and drag its long slobbering tongue across Madoka's face.

She stood their for a moment, covered in saliva, as her expression slowly contorted into a mixture of disgust, horror and rage.

"I-I-Inahime!"

The pink Persona's leg jerked out, kicking the offending Shadow back into the group as she drew her bow back and fired a single arrow up into the air, disappearing just before it hit the ceiling before hundreds of arrows fell down on the group of Shadows while at the same time leaving a nice arrow free circle around Yuu and Izanagi.

The Shadows seemed to twitch in pain, having been turned into living pincushions, before they sank to the ground.

"Impressive," Kyubey said while Madoka blinked in amazement.

"How did I do that?" Madoka asked as Yuu slowly sat up and looked around him while the Shadows slowly dissolved.

"Five more Hableries and three more Twins..." Kyubey muttered keeping track of the kill count.

"Where exactly are we supposed to be going anyway?" Yuu asked as Izanagi floated back onto its feet. "I've just been following the path..."

"This is the first time I've been in this place so I am not sure," Kyubey replied. "However, the Shadow swarms are getting larger as we advance along the path, so it might be a good place to start."

"So we just keep on moving forward?" Madoka asked.

"We have no other leads to go for so it's probably the best," Yuu agreed before his head shot up. "Madoka! Above!"

Coming from the sky were several white hands which threw what appeared to be several dice towards their group. Dice that exploded on contact.

""SYNCHRO!""

A pair of voice shouted over the explosion as a black and pink blur shot out of the flames over the hand Shadows and started attacking them.

"Cleave!"

"Holy Arrow!"

Like a black phantom, Yuu hopped from Shadow to Shadow, stabbing them in the back before hopping towards the next one while Madoka fired at the ones that still had dice in their hands, causing them to explode, destroying the hands as well.

With the last one destroyed, the two of them fell back towards the ground.

Yuu landed on one hand and both of his knees while Madoka landed on her feet before slipping and falling down on her butt.

"Ouchie..." she groaned as she rubbed her backside.

"Still better than my first landing attempt," Yuu said as he extended his hand to help her to her feet.

"Magic Hands and Bronze Dice," Kyubey explained. "190 yen and 200 yen respectively. Of course, since the Bronze Dice destroyed themselves...I guess I'll just add that to your total."

"Uuu...that was scary...I thought we were going to be burned alive..."

"It's not over yet..."

Indeed, a second wave of Magic Hands and Bronze Dice appeared, almost double the first wave's amount, came charging at them.

"How are we supposed to get past that?" Madoka shrieked.

"Guh..." Yuu groaned. As he jumped over a few dice before they could explode around him. Madoka however wasn't targeted by the dice and instead, the Magic Hands that had tossed the Dice at Yuu snapped their fingers, causing several pillars of flame to surround Madoka.

"Kyaaah!"

"Madoka!"

"_You have established a new bond, allowing you to use another Arcana._"

A voice resounded in Yuu's head without warning as he felt something inside him roaring to get out.

"Margaret?" he wondered, picturing the pale golden haired woman from his "dreams."

"_You who possesses the power of the Wild Card possess the power to wield multiple Persona. Now...let your power burst forth._"

Then, a card fell down in front of him, depicting the image of a pair of hands bathed in flame with a pair of eyes behind the flames. The Magician Arcana Card.

"This is..." Yuu gasped before his eyes narrowed. "Persona!"

Closing his clawed hand around the card, a burst of blue fire erupted around him.

A white Persona with a pair of black eyes and a black mouth along with a blue hat and a pair of blue shoes sprung forth. It looked like a little jester made of snow.

It immediately flew toward Madoka and did a little back flip behind the girl, causing several ice shards to surround the flames, stopping them cold.

"Jack Frost!" Yuu shouted as the new Persona turned toward the mass of Magic Hands and Bronze Dice. With another back flip, the Persona cast it's ice spell again, showering the entire swarm with ice shards knocking the Shadows to fall to the ground. "Now, Madoka!"

"Thank you, Yuu-kun!" Madoka shouted back as she formed to arrows in her hands and rushed the Shadows along side Yuu. "It's an All-Out-Attack!"

"Get them!" Yuu shouted as well as the started pummeling the unconscious Shadows without reservation. Though he had to admit, it was a little...scary...watching Madoka run around stabbing the Shadows with her arrows.

Finally, all the Shadows were destroyed, allowing the two of them to catch their breath.

"We're alive..." Madoka sighed as she fell to the ground with both of their Synchro Armors disappearing. "I can't believe it..."

"So it seems," Yuu nodded as he sat down beside her.

"But, that's amazing, Yuu-kun! How did you get a second Persona?" Madoka asked.

"I...have no idea to be honest. I just...felt something burning to get out, and the next thing I knew, the card had fell down in front of me."

"Interesting," Kyubey said as it stared at him. "It's a rare ability you know, to be able to use more than one Persona. You must be a very powerful human, Narukami Yuu."

"I'm just a normal boy," he replied as he stood back up. "Come on, Madoka. We need to help Tomoe."

"Right," Madoka nodded as she stood up as well and the two of them continued their run through the strange place.

* * *

Mami hugged her legs in an effort to keep herself warm.

She didn't know what had happened. Just that while she was watching the Midnight Channel that her classmate had talked about and then she was suddenly in this strange and scary place.

She didn't know how long she had been in here. The fog that surrounded the area made it impossible for her to see whether or not it was light out and it clung to her body like a wet blanket. She hadn't eaten since the dinner before watching the Midnight Channel and she hadn't slept in fear of something coming out of the fog. She was miserable, scared, hungry, tired and all alone.

So she had huddled in a corner of whatever room she was in to try and keep herself warm and to hopefully see anything that would come her way.

"Someone...please...help me..." she cried as she buried her face into her knees.

But who could help her? She didn't even know where she was after all. One moment she was in her apartment, alone as her parents were still hospitalized, and the next she was here with no memory of what happened in between.

The image that appeared on the Midnight Channel came to her mind. Her classmate, Kure Kirika had said it was supposed to show a person's soul mate but that couldn't be right. After all, she saw herself on the TV instead of that other figure she saw the other night, the one she was sure was Narukami Yuu.

"_That's right...if it's Narukami-san, then surely he would save me, right?_"

Mami's eyes shot wide open as she heard that strange voice.

It had a distinct flanging sound and she was sure that one of the voices had been her own.

Slowly standing up, she stuck her back to the wall as she called out, "Hello? Is someone there?"

"_He sees me as a friend doesn't he? Then he should be saving me. We had lunch together and we talked about random things together and he saved me. That means we're friends now right?_"

"Who are you?" Mami demanded, mustering up what little courage she had left. "Come out!"

"_Who am I you ask?_" the voice asked in a sing-song voice as the fog suddenly lifted a bit, allowing her to see that she was on what seemed to be a giant tea tray with several giant tea cups on it as well as a giant plate with an even larger cake on it. And in front of it was a girl in a yellow-green dress. "_Why, I am you after all._"

"W-what?" Mami gasped as he hands flew up to her mouth as she stared at the girl. "W-why do you look like me...?"

"_I told you didn't I? I am you. The you inside. All everyone ever saw was the graceful and elegant 'Tomoe-senpai' and yet whenever they come to talk to me they never say more than a few words before leaving me all alone._"

"No..."

"_Ah, it's so lonely...and then, he came. Like a black prince saving the white maiden. Someone who didn't fall in line with such a foolish image and took me as I was. So I became desperate. I agreed with everything and anything his friends suggested in hopes that he would just consider me as a friend as well. Ahh...how pathetic._"

"No...I'm not...that's not..."

"Tomoe!"

Mami turned when she heard a voice behind her. There she saw _him_ running up to her along with another girl, his cousin she believed.

How did he get here? Was he here to save her? How long has he been there?

"_Ahh, my friends! Welcome!_"

Did they hear it. Die he hear it?

"Tomoe, are you okay?"

"Tomoe-san, are you hurt?"

How much did they hear? What are they thinking about? Do they think of her as a horrible person?

They took a step towards her only for her to take a step back.

"No...please..." she said.

"Tomoe?" the boy asked in confusion.

"No...I'm not...don't think of me like that...please..."

"Tomoe-san, please calm down!"

"_Don't think of me as what? A lonely little girl taking advantage of a boy's ignorance to stave off her own loneliness?_"

"No! I'm not...like that! I'm not...You...you are not...!"

"Tomoe, stop!"

"You're...not me!"

"_Kyahahahahahaah! That's right! I'm not you anymore! __**I am my own person!**_"

And Tomoe Mami's world went dark.

* * *

"Tomoe!"

Yuu ran forward as the Shadows flooded out from around Mami's body, causing the girl to fall to the ground in a dead faint. He slid across the ground once he was close enough, catching her just before her head hit the ground.

"Yuu-kun, the Shadow!" Madoka called out.

Yuu turned his gaze on the fake Mami that had been sitting next to the giant slab of cake.

The smaller Shadows had converged on top of it, causing it to lose its human shell and take on the shape of a stranger creature, much like Madoka's had done.

Though it remained similar to its human form, there was nothing human left about it. Its arms stretched out like ribbons as it swung its body back and forth. The bonnet on its head stretched out so that it became its entire head with only a small white sphere with red polka dots was left of the head. Its waist became so thin that Yuu wondered how on earth it was even remaining upright.

"_**I am a Shadow! The true self!**_" it declared as it hopped forward, landing just in front of Yuu and Mami. "_**Come now my friends, let us enjoy this friendly tea time!**_"

"Jack Frost!" Yuu shouted as he crushed the Magician Card in his hand, shooting out the white and blue Persona at the Shadow.

"_**Oh? Will you be my friend too?**_" the Shadow asked as it shot its arms out at the Persona, only to miss and it weaved back and forth around the arms while cackling wildly. "_**Oh this is fun...kuh?**_"

Inahime had appeared behind Madoka and had quickly shot an arrow at the Shadow, knocking it away from Jack Frost as Yuu lifted Mami in his arms and ran away from the Shadow.

"_**Why are you running away from me? Don't leave me alone!**_"

As the Shadow screamed, thunderclouds appeared in the sky before lightning bolts rained down upon them, cutting off their escape route.

"So we have to beat it then?" Yuu grunted as Jack Frost was hit by a stray bolt, sending a large shock through his body. "Kyubey, does the contract cover Jack Frost as well?"

"The contract allows you to synchronize with your Persona," Kyubey replied. "Jack Frost is your Persona. Therefore, you can synchronize with him."

"Loop holes," Yuu smirked as Jack Frost appeared in front of him. The two of them clapped the other's hand and shook it. "Synchro!"

A burst of blue flames surrounded the boy and when he opened his eyes, he was wearing a full white fluffy body suit with Jack Frost's hat, collar, and boots.

"I really have no imagination..." Yuu mumbled as he looked down at his hands.

"Don't say that," Madoka giggled. "I think it looks cute!"

"Is now really the time for that?"

"_**Don't ignore me! Friends shouldn't ignore each other!**_"

Two more bolts of lightning shot down at the duo but Yuu quickly raised his hand and formed two blocks of ice above them, blocking the attack.

"Tch...this Persona has no weapons...but...Bufula!"

Instead of small ice shards, a giant block of ice formed around the Shadow, freezing her in place.

"Now, Inahime!" Madoka called out as the Persona drew her bow and fired two arrows at the same time, shattering the ice block and pinning the Shadow to a tea cup.

"_**Ow...how could you? How could you do this to a friend? Fine! Who needs you anymore! I can make better friends now!**_"

At her words, two smaller Shadows appeared from the tea cup and pulled the arrows out of Mami's Shadow's arm. One was dressed in a pink ballerina outfit wielding a golden bow, the other was in all black like a ninja with a long red scarf around its neck. Both of them had only a one giant eye on their head and was were wearing a hat with a tea cup design on it.

"That..." Yuu gasped as the two new Shadows rushed him. "Guh..."

"That's us...?" Madoka asked as Inahime wrapped her arms around her. "Synchro!"

As Madoka stepped out of the blue flame, she nocked her bow and took aim at the pink Shadow, letting the arrow fly, only for the Shadow to mimic her movements and shoot down the arrow before it got anywhere near it.

Yuu meanwhile was left to deal with the black Shadow on his own. It was surprisingly agile as it kept jumping back and forth, dodging his attempts to encase it in a block of ice, and when it got close it managed to punch and kick him with its fluffy arms, which, surprisingly enough, hurt a lot.

"Kuu...is this how she sees me?" Yuu wondered as the Shadow made another charge. "Izanagi!"

Just as the Shadow got in front of Yuu, a bladed geta shot from behind the boy's head, smashing and cutting through the Shadow, pinning it into the ground as it squirm wildly.

Yuu held his hand up as a cool chill spread across the room.

"Mabufu!"

Izanagi stepped back as Ice shards rained down over the battleground, hitting all the Shadows and destroying the black one.

"Now!" Madoka shouted as the pink Shadow had turned its attention away by raising its arms to block the oncoming ice shards. "_**The tears of those beyond the endless sky, Arrow Shower!**_"

She fired a single arrow up into the sky and in an instant, hundreds of arrows came falling down, destroying the pink Shadow as well as turn Mami's Shadow into a big yellow pincushion.

* * *

Her head was hurting. There was something screaming around her and it drew her out of her sleep.

Mami opened her eyes and lifted her head up to see a large black humanoid creature kneeling on top of her. She wanted to scream in fright but her voice was caught in her throat as something else screamed.

Turning towards it, she saw something that looked a lot like the girl that looked like her.

Standing in front of it was a boy wearing a white body suit with a blue cap and boots and a girl in a frilly pink dress holding a wooden bow in her hand.

"_**Gyaaaaaah!**_" it screamed as it lashed out at them, knocking several arrows out of its body. "_**Why? Why are you killing my friends? Why? For that little girl? That pathetic little...**_"

"Because...I am her friend," the boy said as a blue flame roared around him before gathering in his hand. "That's all there is to it. Who cares what her reasons for being it are. Right now, I'm still her friend...that is, if she wants me to be."

"Narukami...san?" Mami asked and the boy turned toward her with a smile before turning back toward the creature.

"Bufula!" he shouted as the creature became encased in a block of ice. The black creature that had been kneeling over Mami suddenly shot towards it, brandishing its blade, and sliced the other creature in two, shattering the ice and causing the two halves that remained to burn in a dark flame, leaving only the girl...no, herself, behind as it hovered in the air, bathed in a soft blue light.

"Tomoe-san, are you okay?" the pink haired girl asked as she walked over to Mami. "Are you hurt?"

"No...umm...you're...Kaname-san?" Mami asked.

"That's right," Madoka nodded. "We came to save you, right, Yuu-kun."

"You weren't that enthusiastic about it in the beginning though," Yuu said as he placed a hand on his hip and walked towards them.

"Muu...I still did it though, didn't I?"

"Narukami-san...I..." Mami began but her eyes flew towards the floating copy of herself. "I'm sorry..."

"It's fine," Yuu said as he pulled Mami to her feet. "You just wanted a friend right?"

"I..."

"Then, let's start over. My name is Narukami Yuu...and you are...?"

"Tomoe...Mami..."

"Then, Tomoe...would you like to be friends?"

"I...yes...I'd like that a lot..."

"And now we're friends. Simple right?"

"I suppose it is...I was a really fool..."

"But it's all okay now!" Madoka chirped up. "I'm Kaname Madoka. Pleased to meet you, Tomoe-san!"

"Thank you, Kaname-san."

Mami saw her other self smile at her.

"You know what that is right?" Yuu asked.

"Yes..." Mami nodded as she walked towards it with Yuu supporting her. "You...are me..."

The girl nodded as a blue light flashed, blinding them for a moment. Then, when the light died down, the girl had transformed into a tall white faceless female humanoid with a brown armor wrapped around her torso from her shoulders to just below her crotch like a swimsuit. She had armored gauntlets and greaves around her arms and legs as well as a chain mail skirt around her legs. She also had had a yellow and green striped scarf around her neck that drooped down to her feet and was holding what looked like to be a musket of some sort.

Then it vanished, taking the form of card depicting a crown over a distinctly feminine shape with the number three on it as it floated into Mami's chest. Mami's strength to face herself has been made manifest, allowing her to obtain the façade used to overcome life's hardships, the persona Kichijoten.

"What is this?" Mami asked.

"A Persona," Yuu replied as the black creature landed beside him as his clothes suddenly turned back into the school uniform.

"A Persona?"

"That's right," Madoka nodded as her outfit changed into a school uniform as well while a pink creature appeared behind her. "Your new power."

"My power..."

"Oi, Tomoe!"

Mami's legs suddenly felt weak and she lost her balance, causing her to fall backwards into Yuu's arms.

"That girl has been in here for approximately seventeen hours," a third voice that Mami didn't recognize said. "She is without a doubt, exhausted. Perhaps it will be best if you all left for now."

"We should take her to the nurse's office at school!" Madoka was saying. "Good thing she's still in her uniform or it might have raised some questions."

"Right, let's go!"

"Before you forget. Today's bounty is ten thousand and twenty yen for all the Shadows you destroyed. An excellent harvest."

"T-TEN THOUSAND YEN?"

"This is way better than a part time job..."

* * *

"It's a good thing the nurse doesn't ask many questions," Madoka said as she and Yuu were sitting around Mami's bed in the nurse's office, eating some snacks that they bought from the cafeteria.

"Yeah," Yuu nodded as he took a bite of his melon bread. "Especially since you don't have your crutches with you."

"They're probably still in my apartment..." Mami replied as finished off a sandwich that Yuu gave her.

"You must have been really hungry," Madoka noted. "That was your fifth one."

"Eh, it was?" Mami asked as she looked down at the wrappers in the trash bin. "Oh dear..."

"It's fine," Yuu said. "We got paid recently so everything is on us."

"Paid?"

"You know, those Shadows?" Madoka asked, receiving a blank look from Mami. "Ah...right...those creatures that appeared in the foggy world."

"Oh..."

"Yeah. We have someone that pays us for each one we defeat. Apparently, we beat enough that we got paid ten thousand yen...each...not that we went in there to make money of course. We didn't even know about being paid until we were already in there looking for you."

"I see...where exactly was, 'in there' anyway?"

Yuu held up his hand for a moment as he peeked outside the curtains around Mami's bed to make sure that the Nurse was still off running his errand and that they were still alone in the office.

"It's a world inside the TV," Yuu replied.

"Inside...the TV..." Mami repeated slowly. "You are not joking are you?"

"No, it really is inside the TV," Madoka said. "Remember when we watched the scary movie Katou-senpai told us about? That was when Yuu-kun got dragged in."

"You too?"

"Yeah," Yuu nodded. "I think it was right after the movie. I remember hearing the clock strike midnight and then I think I saw the Midnight Channel."

"I remember that...that was...you wasn't it? On the Midnight Channel back then?"

"Maybe," Yuu replied. "I certainly never did any of those poses though."

"What are you talking about?" Madoka asked. "You watched the Midnight Channel before?"

"We were talking about it a bit in class," Mami said. "That was how our classmate told us about it because she heard us talking about it..."

Mami suddenly went quiet as she turned away from Yuu who raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Ahh...Tomoe-san..." Madoka began but Mami quickly waved her hands frantically at her to silence her. "I see...Tomoe-san is a girl too after all."

"Well...she's definitely not a guy," Yuu replied, unconsciously moving his eyes down before quickly bringing them back up.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Really? Well...anyway, the Midnight Channel seems strange. I show up and then get pulled into the TV then Tomoe shows up and she gets pulled into the TV..."

"Do you think they're a warning sign for who might be dragged into the TV?" Mami asked after clearing her throat.

"Perhaps," Yuu nodded. "Though I can't say that they're warnings since Tomoe and I were pulled in right after seeing it."

"I wonder what it really is then," Madoka said as she placed a finger on her chin. "I wonder why Yuu-kun showed up one day and then Tomoe-san did. Other than being third years and in the same class, you two don't really have much in common...I think."

"Why indeed," Mami wondered as she and Yuu turned toward each other, before she quickly turned her head away away prompting another confused look from Yuu.

"So, what do you want to do now, Tomoe?" Yuu asked.

"What I want?"

"Madoka and I are going to keep going into that world to try and find out what is causing people to be pulled in," Yuu explained. "Since you also have a persona, that means you can come in with us, if you want to of course."

"What exactly is it that you're trying to do?"

"I have no idea. For now, I'm going to keep watching the Midnight Channel. If it really does show the next person who is going to be pulled into the TV then I want to make sure I can go save them before they get killed."

"Narukami-san..."

"I don't want to be a hero or anything like that. But, if I can do something to help people in trouble, then I should help them."

"But...it's scary isn't it?"

"Oh, it's very very scary," Madoka replied. "The same thing that happened to you happened to me. A Shadow that looked like me appeared in a place that looked like my house and tried to kill me too. But Yuu-kun beat it up before it could, all by himself. Like a real veteran."

"I just do what comes naturally," Yuu insisted.

"Even if you say that, you can use two Persona and Synchronize with both of them," Madoka countered. "That's really amazing!"

Yuu realized that the conversation was going to go in a circle if he kept arguing with her so he remained silent and turned back to Mami.

"So, what do you think, Tomoe?" Yuu asked. "I suppose Madoka and I are doing fine for now, but if you want to help us, we'll be glad to have you."

"After your leg gets better of course,"Madoka said quickly.

"If...if you think I can be of help..." Mami said slowly. "Then...I'll do it."

"Then welcome to the team," Yuu said as he extended a hand out to her.

Mami stared at it for a moment before looking up at Yuu and taking the hand.

Barely a second later, the nurse finally returned.

"Ugh, finally found them..." the nurse sighed as she produced a pair of crutches. "Really now...why in the world were they on the complete opposite end of the school?"

She walked towards the trio and handed Yuu the crutches.

"You just seem to be exhausted, Tomoe-san. A good rest at home for a few days is all you need. Since you two found her and brought her here, why don't you two help Tomoe-san back home?"

"Yes Ma'am," Yuu nodded. "Are you ready to go, Tomoe?"

"Yes," Mami nodded as she took the crutches and Madoka helped her to her feet.

* * *

The walk out of school was...quiet for lack of a better word as the rain beat down around them.

At least, between Yuu and Mami. Madoka was doing most of the talking to the blonde and Yuu was only halfheartedly listening, more interested in remembering the directions to get to Mami's house so that they could take the reverse to head back to the school and eventually get home.

However, one question brought his attention to the two girls and away from a strange blue butterfly.

"Are your parents okay?" Madoka asked.

"Yes," Mami replied immediately. "Though they're still in the hospital."

"They're not...paralyzed are they?" Yuu asked.

"No, but they're still weak from the crash," Mami replied. "They're asleep most of the time but we did talk for a bit last night before...you know...I got pulled into the TV."

"So you're by yourself right now?"

"Yes..."

Yuu didn't consider that. He supposed that's why Mami had asked if he wanted to walk home together. Great, now he felt bad for declining.

Mami lived in an apartment only a few blocks from the school. Yuu was surprised at how close it was.

"Wow, this is a pretty big building," Madoka said. "I think it's bigger than Sayaka-chan's! Which floor do you live in, Tomoe-san?"

"I live on the third floor," Mami explained.

"Does everything in this city have to be so big?" Yuu asked as they followed Mami to the elevator.

"Really?" Mami asked. "I think this is fairly normal..."

"That reply again...the people in this city have skewed perspectives..."

The elevator door opened once they reached their desire floor and Mami turned to the cousins.

"Then, I'll see you two later then?" Mami asked.

"Of course," Madoka nodded.

"Be sure to rest up, Tomoe," Yuu said.

"I will...and...thank you both again."

The cousins nodded as the elevator doors closed.

"It's a good thing we were able to help Tomoe-san, isn't it?" Madoka asked.

"Yeah..." Yuu said as he let out a small cough.

"Are you okay, Yuu-kun?"

"I think I talked too much today..."

"You're right. I think today was the most you've ever talked since you came here."

"..."

"Yuu-kun? Are you okay?"

"..."

"Uh oh..."

* * *

**Friday, April 17th: Foggy**

"It really did become foggy," Madoka said as Yuu simply nodded, wrapping his scarf around his neck and mouth a bit tighter. "I don't think Sayaka-chan and Hitomi-chan are going to wait for us today. It's dangerous standing around in the fog after all."

Again, Yuu nodded in reply as he took out his phone.

"Losing your voice really is troublesome isn't it?" Madoka asked as her phone rang. "Hmm? '_Madoka, stop trying to make me talk...' _Ah...sorry..."

Yuu didn't say anything as he closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

The burning fire in his throat was irritating him to no end. This was the first time he had ever lost his voice too.

Madoka's parents had no idea what to do but Tomohisa had suggested that Yuu should just avoid using his voice for a while and hopefully it will come back eventually.

Well, at least he won't be called upon in class today.

"Oh, Kaname-san and Narukami-san?"

The cousins turned around to see Mami coming out of the fog behind them.

"Good morning, Tomoe-san!" Madoka said. "Are you sure you're okay to go to school?"

"Yes, I feel much better now. I missed class yesterday so I thought I should definitely come today."

"I see."

"Hmm? Is something wrong, Narukami-san? You look angry."

"Umm, Yuu-kun lost his voice right after you left," Madoka explained as Yuu pulled out his phone again. "So...he's hasn't been exactly...happy for the last several hours."

Yuu held up his phone for Mami to read the message he typed out.

"_It hurts even when I eat_,'" Mami read. "Oh dear...I heard that it helps if you drink lots of water."

Yuu nodded as he pulled a half-empty water bottle out of his bag and showed it to Mami before taking a sip from it.

"That's good then," Mami nodded as the three of them continued their walk to the school. They were walking up the ramp to the gates when Mami spoke again. "Umm...I hope this isn't too out of the blue...but would you two like to come over to my apartment after school?"

"To Tomoe-san's apartment?" Madoka asked and Mami nodded. "What do you think, Yuu-kun?"

Yuu placed a hand a hand on his chin in thought before typing out, "_Are you sure_?"

"Yes," Mami said quickly. "So please, consider it?"

Yuu thought about it for a few more seconds before he finally nodded and Mami beamed at him.

* * *

The school day passed quickly to Yuu as he had been excused from Physical Ed and from answering questions in class thanks to his loss of voice. Though he found it rather boring and he hadn't been able to ask questions on things that had been confusing to him.

"Your apartment looks amazing, Tomoe-san!" Madoka said as the three of them sat at a triangular glass table on some cushions. Mami had also got out some cake and tea for them, which Yuu had helped her with. "And this cake is amazing! Where did you buy it?"

"Actually...I made it," Mami replied bashfully.

"Eh, really?" Madoka gasped. "I'm so jealous...I wish I can cook this well..."

"Would you like to practice together then?" Mami asked, only for Yuu to choke a bit on his water. "Narukami-san? Are you okay?"

"_I just don't think that's a good idea_," Yuu typed out quickly.

"Geez...it was just one time..." Madoka said softly. "Why are the men in my family better cooks than the women?"

"_Tatsuya isn't._"

"Tatsuya is three! He can't even reach the stove!"

"_My point still stands._"

"You cook Narukami-san?" Mami asked, as that was the only thing she got form the conversation.

Yuu responded by holding his fingers a little bit apart from another.

"Is that right...? May I try some of your cooking one day?"

Yuu simply shrugged noncommittally.

"Uuu...I wanna be able to cook too..." Madoka cried.

"Well my offer still stands, Kaname-san," Mami said but Yuu frantically shook his head "no."

"Stop being mean! It won't happen twice!"

"Um...what exactly did happen?" Mami asked curiously.

Immediately the two of them froze up.

Madoka then turned her head away while Yuu grabbed his water bottle and tried to down as quickly as he could as if something had crawled into his mouth and he was attempting to wash it out as quickly as humanly possible.

"Was it...really that bad?"

Again, another round of silence spread across them save for the sound of Yuu constantly chugging his water bottle as if trying to drown himself with it.

"Um..." Mami began, trying to think of a new topic. "Oh, can you explain more about those...Persona to me, Kaname-san?"

That seemed to get the two out of their stupor as Madoka began explaining everything to her again.

"I see..." Mami nodded. "So I need to meet with this Kyubey first."

"Pretty much," Madoka said as she poured herself another cup of tea.

"And how do you call your Persona again?"

"Oh that's easy," Madoka said as she clapped her hands. "You just imagine a card falling down in front of you and...eh?"

Madoka lowered her hands as she looked up.

Mami blinked as she looked up.

Yuu spat in his drink as he looked up.

A small blue card with the number one fell down from the ceiling and spun around in front of Madoka's face for a few seconds before disappearing as quickly as it came.

The three of them stared at the empty space in front of Madoka for several minutes before the pink haired girl finally spoke up.

"Did...that just happen?" Madoka asked slowly.

"Huh?" Mami asked turning toward Madoka. "Was that not supposed to?"

"I don't...know?" Madoka replied as Yuu rubbed his eyes. "I always thought that Persona could only be summoned in the TV World."

Yuu held out his own hand as the Magician Arcana fell down on it and rested there for a few seconds before disappearing again.

"Probably not a good idea to break it," Madoka said as Yuu shook his hand as if it had suddenly caught on fire.

"Why not?" Mami asked. She had been hoping to see what their Persona looked like now that they wouldn't be completely covered in fog.

"Because fire comes out when we do."

"I see...please don't break it then."

"T-then...does this mean that we can summon our Persona out here?" Madoka asked. "Should we ask Kyubey about it?"

Yuu thought for a moment before nodding as he pulled out a pair of glasses.

"Where's your TV, Tomoe-san?" Madoka asked as the two of them stood up.

"The TV?" Mami asked as she got to her feet as well. "It's over here."

She led them to the dining room where a large flat screen TV was resting on a white stand. Yuu walked up toward it and held his glasses up to it before tapping it with his hand, causing the supposedly solid screen to ripple like a puddle, before crawling through.

He thought he heard Mami let out a gasp behind him but didn't pay much attention to it as he appeared on the stage where Kyubey was sitting and looking at him.

"Back again so soon?" Kyubey asked. "You're certainly hard-working aren't you?"

Yuu simply shrugged his shoulders as he stuck his hand back through the TV and felt someone grab it. He then pulled his arm back through, bringing Mami along with it with Madoka coming through right behind her.

"This...really is inside the TV..." Mami gasped as Madoka helped support her.

"You are...ah, the human who was rescued yesterday," Kyubey said as it walked up to Mami. "Are you here to make a contract too?"

"Are you Kyubey?" Mami asked.

"That's right. I'm Kyubey. I work here. What's your name?"

"Tomoe Mami. Nice to meet you, Kyubey."

"You too. Are you here to accept the contract?"

"Yes. I, Tomoe Mami, accept your contract."

"Then, please summon your Persona."

Mami nodded as she closed her eyes, allowing her Arcana Card, The Empress, to fall down in front of her as she placed one hand over the card and the other below it.

"Persona!" she shouted as she crushed the card between her hands and scattered the shards out in front of her, causing her Persona, Kichijoten to appear behind her.

The Persona turned toward Mami as a soft purple light flashed around her.

"Huh?" Mami gasped as the light died down. "What was...huh?"

She looked down at her cast and slowly shifted her weight on it.

"Tomoe-san?" Madoka asked.

"It...doesn't hurt..." Mami said slowly as she leaned on her foot. Then, feeling a little bold, she took a step away from Madoka and jumped. "It doesn't hurt...!"

"Oh...it seems that your Persona has some healing abilities, Tomoe Mami," Kyubey said as the girl stomped her foot happily. "But...you've been quieter than usual, Narukami Yuu. Is something the matter or do you simply have nothing to say?"

"Yuu-kun...lost his voice," Madoka explained.

"How does one lost their voice?" Kyubey asked as it tilted its head to the side. "I thought a human's voice comes from the vibration of their vocal folds?"

"I...um...?"

"Umm...can you do anything for Narukami-san?" Mami asked as she turned toward Kichijoten.

The Persona looked down at Mami before turning to Yuu as a yellow orb flashed around Yuu before vanishing without a trace.

"W-well?" Madoka asked as Yuu brought a hand to his neck.

"I can talk..." Yuu said in surprise.

"Wow, amazing!" Madoka said clapping her hands together. "That will be very helpful later on!"

"Yeah. Thank you, Tomoe," Yuu nodded.

"Well then, back to business," Kyubey said as it sat itself in front of Mami."Holder: Tomoe Mami. Terms: With the power to fight Shadows, find out the cause for the unrest. Time limit: None. Power granted: Synchronization with Holder's Persona."

"Synchro!" Mami called out as she knelt down while Kichijoten placed a hand on her shoulder which she then grasped with her own. "Kichijoten!"

The persona vanished and bathed Mami in a blue flame as she stood up and took two steps forward, allowing her shoes to change into armored thigh-high boots, her yellow school uniform to turn into white one with a brown corset with a small feather beret on her head. She also had a black long waist cape with white vertical stripes that stretched down to her ankles and armored greaves along her arms.

"This is..." Mami began as she looked down at herself.

"Contract Synchronization Armor," Kyubey said as a pair of purple sunglasses floated into Mami's hands. "Once you synchronize with your Persona, you become much stronger and faster than a normal human and you can use your Persona's abilities as if they were your own."

"We wanted to ask about that," Yuu said. "For some reason, it seems that we can use our Persona outside of this world. Is that your doing?"

"I have no control over what happens outside of the terms of the contract," Kyubey replied. "The only abilities you've gained is the ability to fight Shadows on equal terms."

"Then...I can use my healing powers on the outside?" Mami asked and Kyubey nodded.

Immediately, Mami stuck her hand into the exit and disappeared through it, leaving the cousins alone with Kyubey.

"I guess she's going to her parents?" Madoka asked as Yuu smiled.

"Looks like she'll be fine," Yuu said simply as the two of them exited as well.

* * *

Chapter's End Corner

**Harouki**: Shorter chapter this time folks as there really wasn't much to cover after Mami's timely rescue by her one and only hero. Overall, I am extremely dissatisfied with this chapter, but I can't really think of anything else to do.

**Sayaka**: So...Persona being summoned outside of the TV World?

**Harouki**: Let's just say that I need this to happen and move on.

**Sayaka**: All right, I can accept that. Tell me one thing though.

**Harouki**: Yes?

**Sayaka**: Why the hell didn't I appear AT ALL during this entire chapter?

**Harouki**: Because my beloved Miki, you were not important to the current plot. This is Mami's arc.

**Sayaka**: But I could have had at least ONE line couldn't I?

**Harouki:** Nope sorry. In other very late news...Persona 4: The Golden will be coming out on October 30th in the US for the Playstation Vita. It will feature new , new cutscenes, and new characters! It will also let you build that god damn Snow Man with Nanako! I wish to marry this game. The new opening, Shadow World, is also pretty damn awesome. I'm addicted to it.

Also, like Persona 3 Portable before it, it will let you dress up your characters in costumes as they run around the dungeons...including... Yuu's special clothing during the school festival. Fans...You know what I am talking about. High Cut Armor makes a return as well.

Unlike P3P though, you will be able to actually see your main character run around just like the Playstation 2 version.

Will this have an affect on the Fic? It already has. You just won't see it until much, much later. Uhihihihi...

**Sayaka**: That is a disturbing and sickening laugh...

**Harouki**: Perhaps. See you all next time.


	5. Chapter 5: Day of Fools

**Chapter 5: Day of Fools**

* * *

**Monday, April 20th: Cloudy**

"Cloudy again today," Yuu said as he and Madoka walked down the same street towards school.

"Uuu...and the weather report said that it will rain tomorrow," Madoka sighed. "It was so sunny during the weekend too, once the fog was over anyway."

"Well for now everything will be back to normal," Yuu said.

"I hope so...ah, Sayaka-chan, Hitomi-chan!" Madoka called out. Said girls turned around as the cousins walked up the path toward them but quickly turned their heads away from them. "Huh?"

"Did you hear something, Hitomi?" Sayaka asked.

"Not at all, Sayaka-san," Hitomi replied. "I certainly did not hear the voice of someone who was our friend, yet ignored us the last four days."

"That was because Yuu-kun lost his voice and the nurse asked me to take Tomoe-senpai home!" Madoka defended herself.

"You shouldn't ignore your friends, Madoka," Yuu said.

"Oh Narukami-kun, good morning!" Sayaka said as the girls turned toward him.

"Good morning, Narukami-senpai," Hitomi greeted with a bow.

"Morning, to you two too."

"So your voice is back to normal?" Sayaka asked.

"Yeah, it came back during the weekend."

"Is that right?" Hitomi asked. "That's great."

"W-wait a minute!" Madoka shouted as the other three started walking down the street without her. "Hey! Don't leave me behind! Come on, this isn't funny!"

"There's that noise again," Sayaka hummed as she turned to Yuu. "Do you hear that?"

"It really is strange isn't it?" Hitomi asked.

"I think the two of you should stop now," Yuu said. "Before Madoka starts crying."

"I'm not crying!"

"Oh, Madoka-san, when did you get here?" Hitomi asked as she finally turned to look at Madoka.

"Seriously, if you were here you should have said something," Sayaka added as Madoka gaped at her so called "friends."

Were it any other time, she would have probably ignored them for the rest of the day. But as it was...she'll just let this incident pass.

"Everyone is so mean..." Madoka sighed as she ran a bit to catch up to the others.

* * *

"Morning, Narukami," Kenichi said as Yuu sat down at his desk and propped his head up with his arm. "Throat feeling better?"

"Much," Yuu replied.

"That's good. Though it was fun seeing you mime everything all day."

"Yeah yeah..."

"Oh yeah, before I forget..." Kenichi said as he pounded his palm. "Club activities are starting up again. You thought about joining one?"

"Not really," Yuu said with a shrug. "Is it mandatory?"

"Nah, but it's something to do since the school doesn't allow students to take part time jobs outside of family duties."

"Family duties?" Yuu repeated.

"Yeah, like...if your parents run a restaurant or something you can help out but that's it," he explained. "They think it gets in the way of school work after all."

"And clubs don't?"

"Don't ask me. So? What do you think? Feel like joining a club?"

"I'll think about it," Yuu said with a shrug. "Are you in one?"

"Nope," Kenichi replied immediately, causing Yuu's arm to slip off his desk. "But I've been thinking about forming a Light Music Club. We have a Music Club already, but that's more of a symphonic band over anything else. I wanna play the bass."

"Is that right?"

The two of them fell silent before Kenichi let out a small cough.

"This is the part where you're supposed to ask, 'So you want me to join?' or 'How can I help?' you know?" he asked.

"Is that so?" Yuu asked. "But I haven't played an instrument in a long time."

"But you did play one before right? Which?"

"A little bit of the keyboard but I didn't bring it with me when I moved."

"Really? What kind of keyboard was it?"

"I believe it was a Yamaha model_."_

_"_A Yamaha huh? Those are pretty good but kind of old now aren't they?"

"It was a birthday gift from a friend of my parents," Yuu said with a shrug. "I liked playing it but stopped once I started moving around."

"That right? I guess it would be a pain to carry it around with you. So where is it now?"

"Back at my parents' house collecting dust probably."

"Gah...that's such a waste! It's probably breaking down from disuse too...the thought of an instrument catching dust in a corner somewhere..."

"I maintain it when I have the chance," Yuu defended himself. "And there's a drape over it so it won't catch dust that easily."

"But you still don't use it!" Kenichi said. "Ah well, how many keys does it have anyway?"

"Sixty-one."

"Yeah, that's not going to work . You'll need at least seventy-six if you want to play real music."

"You're talking like I'm already part of the club."

"Nah, you need four people for a club. This is all theory."

Kenichi smiled and playfully smacked Yuu on the shoulder when the door opened up and Mami came walking in.

"Good morning," Mami greeted with a smile.

"Morning," Yuu said as Kenichi gaped at her.

"You got your cast off!" he pointed out obviously. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Katou-san," Mami replied as she sat down.

"Strange though. I thought bones take at least two months to heal."

"The doctors said it wasn't as bad as they thought it was," Mami replied without hesitation. "And I suppose I am a fast healer."

"Sounds convenient," Kenichi nodded just as the bell rang. "Well, talk to you later Narukami. Think about it for a bit, okay?"

"Sure," Yuu nodded as Kenichi went back to his seat.

"What were you two talking about?" Mami asked.

"He wanted me to help him start a Light Music Club," Yuu replied as he pulled out the worksheet for the class.

"Oh? You play an instrument?"

"I'm going to have to answer that question every time I explain myself don't I?" Yuu sighed as Mami simply tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Hmm?"

"No, never mind. I just used to play the keyboard in elementary school but I don't have my keyboard with me."

"Is that so? Such a shame. I was hoping to hear you play."

Yuu simply shrugged as he opened his English book to try and guess what the day's lesson would involve when he remembered something.

If Mami was going to help them with the whole Shadow World thing then he'd need a way to contact her to let her know if anything came up.

"Hey Tomoe, can I have your phone number?" Yuu asked as he pulled out his phone, causing Mami to jump slightly.

"Eh?" Mami asked as her face reddened slightly. "Why?"

"Well, it's just that if we're going to be working together then we should be able to contact each other."

"Eh...oh right...the whole...yeah, of course!"

This time it was Yuu who was looking confused but he chose not to say anything about it as they held their phones toward the other's and transferred their numbers through them.

A small beep told him the transfer was complete and he noted that Mami looked strangely pleased as she looked at the number.

* * *

Lunchtime came a lot sooner than Yuu expected. Probably because he was sitting in the back and didn't have to worry about being called on to answer a question or read a passage of a book.

"What are you planning to do for lunch?" Kenichi asked as he came up to Yuu yet again.

Yuu had an idle thought, wondering whether of not Kenichi had any other people to talk to but dismissed it rather quickly.

"The same as usual probably," Yuu replied. "Though Madoka is spending some private time with her friends after ignoring them for the last two school days."

"That right? Well you did seem a bit flaky back then. Family trouble?"

"Something like that," Yuu nodded. It was trouble that only he and Madoka had known at the time and it was something only the two cousins could deal with so yes, it was technically family trouble.

Well, technically they have Mami to help them out now so it wasn't too bad.

"I see, well, glad to see it all cleared up," Kenichi said. "Let's head to the cafeteria then. You have got to try the steak lunch set they got. It's a bit pricy but totally worth it."

"Pricy...huh?" Yuu repeated thinking of his newly acquired funds. "How so?"

"I mean its like thirteen hundred a plate but damn if it isn't tasty...oh wait..." Kenichi's voice trailed off as he looked off toward the side. "If we want to try and get some then we gotta go now. Like right now before she hears us. Wanna come too, Tomoe?"

"She?" Mami asked.

"I'll explain later. How about you Ku...and she's gone again..."

Yuu blinked and looked in front of him towards Kirkia's desk, only to see that the dark haired girl had ran off again. She always seemed to disappear without anyone noticing come break times.

"Damn it, I'll catch her one of these days," Kenichi cursed. "Anyway lets..."

"Ken!" came a loud voice as a red haired girl ran up to Kenichi and grabbed him by the shoulders. "I need your help! It's a matter of life and death!"

"I am not treating you, Kyouko!" Kenichi said automatically.

"You want me to die then?"

"You still haven't paid me back the five thousand yen!"

Yuu was sure that Kenichi had said that she had owed him only two thousand on his first day of school. It was only a week since school started and she had already owed more than double that old amount?

Checking his wallet, he found that he still had a little over eight thousand left from his little rescue mission last week, not having used any of it after feeding Mami after her rescue.

"You two know each other, I assume?" Mami asked, reminding the two of them that they weren't alone.

"Unfortunately yes, I know this deadbeat," Kenichi sighed as Kyouko placed her hand on his face and pushed him aside.

"How ya doing?" she asked as Kenichi fell onto the floor. "The name's Sakura Kyouko. "How about doing a girl a favor and treating me to lunch as a sign of a potential friendship?"

"Really?" Kenichi asked, completely dumbfounded. "I'm warning you Narukami, this girl eats like a black hole. You will regret it. If not, then your wallet certainly will."

"Mind your own business," Kyouko snapped back at Kenichi. "Well? What do you say? That steak set sounds nice doesn't it?"

"All right," Yuu said, nodding his head, only for both Kyouko and Kenichi to stare at him. "What is it?"

"Ah...well...I didn't think you'd actually say yes," Kyouko admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "First time someone did actually..."

"Really?" Kenichi asked.

"Yeah...mostly I just borrow cash from people. Apparently if you pester them long enough they'll give some to you to make you go away."

"Gee...I wonder who you're talking about."

"The two of you seem to be getting along well," Mami noted.

"Please don't call this getting along well...anyways, you're a damn Saint you know that Narukami? You sure about this?"

"Why not," Yuu shrugged. "I can treat you too if you want?"

"Nah, I'm not that petty," Kenichi said waving his hand in front of his face. "I can pay for my own food just fine, but thanks for the offer."

"How about you, Tomoe?"

"I brought my own lunch today," Mami said, holding up a small container wrapped in a yellow cloth. "Thank you for offering though."

"Then it's just you and me!" Kyouko said, pulling Yuu out of his seat and proceeding to drag him out of the classroom. "Let's go! Let's go!"

"I warned you!" Kenichi shouted as the two of them disappeared out of the classroom.

* * *

"Ahh...this is awesome," Kyouko sighed as she quickly cut herself another piece.

"Glad you're enjoying yourself," Kenichi sighed as he looked down at his own lunch sadly before turning towards Yuu. "I can't believe you got the last one, Narukami...and you gave it to Kyouko!"

"I did say I would treat her," Yuu shrugged as he shoveled rice into his mouth. He was fine with his beef bowl anyway.

"Bleh...ah well, this is just as good."

"So how do you two know each other?" Mami asked.

"Believe it or not, I knew this deadbeat before she was like this," Kenichi said, jabbing a thumb at Kyouko's direction as the girl ate her food greedily. "Her family owns a church near my place on the edge of Kasamino, the next city over Narukami." He added as Yuu drew a blank look. "There's this park right on the border of the two cities and we met there."

"Oh I remember that day," Kyouko said suddenly. "It was winter and I was having a snowball fight with my little sister. She missed and nailed Ken here pretty good."

"Don't remind me..." Kenichi sighed as he placed his head in his hands.

"How good...exactly?" Yuu asked, morbidly curious and having a small idea what she meant.

"Let's just say that when she brought him down, she brought him _down_," Kyouko said, stressing the last word as Kenichi flinched at the memory. "On the ground. For two minutes."

"If I didn't know Momo personally, I'd say she put a freaking rock in that snowball," he said. "Couldn't stand up straight for hours. She has quite the arm."

"Ahh..." Yuu said with a knowing nod while Mami just looked clueless.

"Did she knock you out?" she asked with worry.

"Sure, let's go with that," Kenichi said with a shrug.

"Nah, he means that he got nailed in his precious family jewels," Kyouko said bluntly, causing Kenichi's face to sour.

"Jewels?" Mami repeated, not quite understanding the euphemism as she turned to Yuu. "What does that mean?"

"The umm..." Yuu began, looking for the right words. "The...area between a boy's legs."

Mami blinked once.

Then twice.

And immediately reddened like an overripe tomato.

"Oh..." she said softly.

"Yes, 'oh,'" Kenichi nodded. "Can we please move on? I'm not comfortable talking about my precious during lunchtime."

"But it's funny," Kyouko said.

"To you maybe. Seriously, I don't care if it's evolution or some god created idea, but why the heck are they _outside_ the body when they are so damn sensitive to pain? Someone, somewhere, sometime, somehow screwed up big time for us guys."

"Does it really hurt that much?" Mami asked Yuu, who simply nodded in response.

"Ah you guys are a bunch of babies," Kyouko said, leaning back in her chair. "It can't hurt that bad."

Kenichi met Yuu's eyes and both boys shook their heads.

A girl can never understand the pain that can even bring the greatest male athletes down to their knees, crying like babies.

While Yuu was perfectly content to just ignore the jab, Kenichi was less than polite. He raised one of his legs up and swiped it at Kyouko's chair. The girl let out a yelp before disappearing under the table in a loud crash.

Kenichi proceeded to have a laugh at her expense, only to disappear under the table with a similar loud crash as Kyouko stood back up.

"Don't screw around when people are eating!" Kyouko shouted as Kenichi sat his chair back up.

"Hey, you did it too!" he shot back.

"They really do get along well, don't they?" Mami asked Yuu.

"Like fire and dynamite maybe," the boy shrugged wondering if the argument was going to end in a physical confrontation or not.

* * *

Another end to an otherwise uneventful school day for Yuu.

"Narukami-san," Mami called out to him. "Are you busy later today?"

"Yeah," Yuu nodded. "Madoka's mom is coming home early for once so her dad is considering doing something special for dinner today."

Mami looked a little disappointed but it quickly disappeared as she shook her head.

"Then...what about tomorrow?"

"I have nothing planned right now, but that could change. Did you need something?"

"I was wondering...if you wanted to go somewhere with me tomorrow?"

"Did you have a particular place in mind?" Yuu asked as the two of them got up and walked out of the classroom together.

"Well...there was this new cake place that I wanted to try out but..." Mami began as she trailed off for a bit before continuing. "But...well...it's not really the sort of place one goes...alone..."

"Oh," Yuu said simply. "Okay then."

"Really?"

"If I'm not busy, sure."

Mami looked slightly surprised at how quickly Yuu accepted but she quickly turned it into a smile.

When they got to the second floor, Mami bade Yuu goodbye as he waited for Madoka and her friends to show up so they could walk home.

"Hmm? Shizuki isn't here?" Yuu asked as he only saw Madoka and Sayaka walk up.

"She has some random class she has to go to," Sayaka said offhandedly as she turned to Madoka. "Tea ceremony this time right?"

"I think so," Madoka nodded. "Did Tomoe-san already leave?"

"Yeah," Yuu nodded as they started walking down the stairs. "We made plans to hang out tomorrow though. Some new cake shop."

"Oh? You move fast don't you, Narukami-kun?" Sayaka asked, holding her hand up to her mouth as if trying to cover her smirk. "It's barely been a week hasn't it?"

"She invited me. Something about feeling awkward going there alone."

"Ah, so that's how it is.

"Can you not just take whatever I say at face value?"

"Nah, it's more interesting this way."

"Sayaka-chan..."

* * *

"Miki is a handful."

Yuu said this a little bit after they split off from Sayaka once they crossed the bridge to the school as the blue haired girl's house was in a different direction.

"She's always been like that," Madoka replied. "Though it just means she likes you."

"That's liking me?" Yuu asked, incredulously. "I'd hate to see what it would be like if she hated me."

"It deals with a lot of yelling and the occasional beating with a blunt object."

Yuu stared at Madoka while the girl simply smiled at him.

"Somehow...I find that very believable after what happened with those reporters last week," Yuu said.

"Yeah..." Madoka nodded. "I'm surprised that nothing showed up in the news or anything. Maybe they didn't get a good look at Sayaka-chan's face?"

"Maybe..."

A few minutes later, they were back home.

"I'm back!" Madoka called out as they walked through the door.

"I'm back," Yuu said as well.

"Welcome back," Tomohisa replied from the kitchen.

"Is Mama still coming back early?" Madoka asked.

"Yeah. She should be back around seven."

Madoka beamed at her father as she went upstairs to change while Yuu simply sat down on his chair at the dining table.

"Do you need any help?" he asked his uncle.

"That would be great," Tomohisa nodded. "Can you help me peel these potatoes?"

Yuu nodded as he took off his blazer and walked over to the counter where a large bin of potatoes awaited him as well as a peeling knife. He washed his hands and then got to work.

"You know, I'm glad that you came over, Yuu-kun," Tomohisa said.

"Oji-san?" Yuu asked as he turned toward him.

"Haha, it's just that I have a hard time dealing with Junko and Madoka sometimes. I've always felt a little bit outnumbered."

"What about Tatsuya?"

"Well...Tatsuya isn't the greatest of backup," Tomohisa said with a laugh. "By the time he is, Madoka would probably have moved out by then. What I'm saying is that it's good to have another man in the house. So, thanks."

"You're welcome...I guess," Yuu replied with a shrug.

Madoka came back down a few minutes later with Tatsuya right behind her as she looked at the two of them for a moment.

"Can I help?" she asked.

"It's fine, Madoka," her father said. "I think we got it."

"You're not still upset about that one time are you?"

"No no, that was an accident. I just need someone to look after Tatsuya and Yuu-kun already volunteered to help."

"Then, why don't you look after Tatsuya instead, Yuu-kun?" Madoka asked.

"But I'm already in the middle of this," Yuu said, holding up a half peeled potato.

"It's only a few of them Just let me..."

"Madoka...I got it."

"Just let him do it, Madoka," Tomohisa said finally as Madoka puffed her cheeks up.

"Geez, you both are ganging up on me," she pouted.

"In this house the kitchen is the men's domain," Tomohisa said with a good-natured smile.

"So no girls allowed," Yuu added as Madoka stuck her tongue at him maturely.

"You both are so mean..." Madoka said with a sigh as she went over and picked Tatsuya up. "Come on Tatsuya. Let's go play somewhere else."

"Madoka!" Tatsuya cooed. "Robots! Robots!"

"Sure. Let's go play with Yuu-kun's robots."

"Wait...what?" Yuu asked as he jerked his head up toward them as they disappeared around the corner. "Wait a minute, Madoka!"

"They're getting along so well," Tomohisa laughed as Yuu ran off after them.

* * *

Sure enough, Junko came home at the promised time, allowing Yuu to have dinner with the entire household for the first time since he'd arrive at Mitakihara.

Sure they sometimes had breakfast together but it was always a quick thing as Junko more often than not had to go to work earlier than he and Madoka had to go to school.

So having the entire family here right now felt like a small treat to him.

"Have you been settling in?" Junko asked him as Madoka tried to persuade her father to let her help with the cooking sometime.

"More or less," Yuu replied. "Madoka's been helping out a lot."

"That's good. Cousins should be getting along after all."

She nodded to herself as she wiped Tatsuya's mouth off, something Yuu felt was a waste of time as the boy somehow gets his face dirty every two minutes when they eat.

"So how's school?" Junko continued. "Is the curriculum about the same as your last school?"

"They're a bit further ahead," Yuu replied, cutting up his steak. "Math is anyway. Everything else is more or less the same."

"That's nice. So you're enjoying school? Make any friends?"

"Yeah. One or two...I think."

"You think?"

"We just eat lunch together."

"That's good enough for a start isn't it?" Junko asked. "Just keep building up on the little things and you'll be great friends in no time."

"And then I'll leave at the end of the year," Yuu mumbled.

"Come now, don't think of it like that. I won't claim to know what it's like moving every few years but if you make some true friends here, a little distance won't stop you from being friends. It's not like you'll be moving out of the country. Phone calls, email, text messages...there's plenty of ways to keep in touch and it's only a few hours to Mitakihara by train. You can visit anytime you like."

"I suppose so..."

"Come now. Your school life is too short to be thinking about things like that. Just try to make the best memories you can before it's over."

"Memories, huh?"

He supposed fighting giant monsters inside a world filled with fog located behind a TV screen was bound to me a unique memory for him.

* * *

**Tuesday, April 21th: Raining/Cloudy**

"Rain..." Yuu noted as he peered out his window. "At least the weather report said it will end in the afternoon. Hate for it to rain while hanging out with Tomoe."

Closing his curtains with a sigh, Yuu started getting dressed before doing his morning ritual and heading down for breakfast.

To his surprise, Junko was still here. To his even greater surprise, she was doing something with the coffee machine.

Normally, he would think that she was just making coffee but...

"Does that go in coffee?" he asked as he stared at the item in his aunt's hand.

It's glowing rainbow...

"Hmm?" she asked as she poured it into a cup. "Oh, not really. But I find that it helps the bitterness and it really wakes you up."

"What wakes you up?" Madoka asked as she came down with Tatsuya in tow.

"Coffee...I think," Yuu replied.

"Oh, Mama's 'Special Wake Up Coffee?'" Madoka asked as Junko nodded. "Can I try it?"

"Hmm...well, you are fourteen now," Junko said as she took a sip of her cup. "I guess it's fine...but only a small one. It might be a bit strong for you."

"Yay," Madoka said as she took a cup from her mother.

"Yuu-kun, want one too?" Junko offered as she held a cup up.

"Why not?" Yuu shrugged as he walked over and took the cup.

The cousins took a step back and stared into the black spirally liquid and looked at each other as a small sense of foreboding swept across them.

"W-well then..." Madoka said as she held her cup toward Yuu.

"Down the hatch..." Yuu said as they clanked their mugs together and took a large swig.

Suddenly, his eyes shot opened.

And the world slowed.

* * *

"Morning, Hitomi!" Sayaka said as she saw her friend come up under the cover of her umbrella.

"Good morning, Sayaka-san," Hitomi said.

"Guess we're the first ones here as usual," Sayaka said. "Hope they don't make us wait in the rain too-"

"Gonnabelategonnabelate! Ohit'sHitomichanandSayakachan!"

"Fast! Run! Make it! Move! Go! Go! Go!"

A white and pink blur shot past the two girls, nearly splashing them with water, causing the two girls to shriek and jump away.

"W-what the heck was that?" Sayaka asked as she turned to see the two blurs skid across the wet street.

"Madoka-san? Narkami-senpai?" Hitomi asked as the two streaks finally came to a halt by placing a hand on the street to help stop themselves as they turned around and shot right back towards them.

"MorningSayakachanHitomichan! Weshouldgetgoingshouldn'twe?"

"Morning! Let's go! Why no go? Go! Go! Go!"

"What the heck has gotten into you two this morning?" Sayaka asked as Masoka was jogging in place while Yuu's head was twitching left and right as if he was on the lookout for something.

"Mamamadesomecoffee! Shefinallyletmedrinksome!"

"Good stuff! Woke up! See things! Faster! So slow! Go! Go! Go!

"Oh for the love off...take a breath!" Sayaka shouted as she shook Madoka's shoulders.

"Iamtakingabreath! See? Inoutinoutinout!"

"Narukami-senpai..." Hitomi said slowly. "Are you okay?"

"Okay? Great! Why? So slow! Need fast! Go! Go! Go!"

"Whyismyhandwet? Yuukunwhyismyhandwet?"

"Touch street! Slowed down! Why slow? Need fast! Go! Go! Go!"

"I can't understand anything they're saying..." Sayaka groaned as she rubbed her temples in annoyance.

"It must have been some really strong coffee..." Hitomi nodded.

"Wait, you understood that? Can I get a translation?"

"Itoldyou! Mamamadesomereallygoodcoffee !"

"Awesome! Great stuff! Try sometime! Makes fast! Go! Go! Go!"

"I believe Madoka-san's mother made them some kind of coffee before they left," Hitomi explained. "And now they're...what's the word...high?"

"High? Ican'tbehighwheni'mstillsoshortHitomichan!"

"High? Bird? Plane? Superman? Rocket? They fast! Go! Go! G-"

"SHUT UP!" Sayaka shouted making the cousins jumped away from her. "YOU TWO ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY!"

"Whyareyoumad? DidIdosomethingwrongagain? YuukunHitomichan? WhyisSayakachanmad?"

"Need coffee? Good idea! Get more! Back home? Nuff time?"

"I give up," Sayaka sighed as she clapped a hand over her eyes.

"I don't think we'll make it in time if you head back to your house for more coffee, Senpai," Hitomi replied as she checked her watch.

"Awwthat'stoobad! MaybenextimeSayakachan! Weshouldgetgoingtoschool!"

"Going! Going..."

"And they're gone..." Sayaka muttered as the cousins sped down the street without realizing that they left the other two behind.

"I wonder how long it will be before it wears off?" Hitomi wondered as she placed a hand on her cheek. "Hopefully it won't affect their schoolwork..."

* * *

"So..." Kenichi began as he, Kyouko and Mami looked at Yuu who had his head on his desk with his hands on his head. The former two had the biggest grins on their faces while the latter was looking at him with worry. "Have you calmed down?"

"What happened?" Yuu asked as he rubbed his head. "My head hurts."

"You were blabbing about like a chipmunk on crack," Kyouko replied. "Not that the teachers minded since you answered everything correctly."

"Though you were a bit hard to understand at times."

"What time is it?" Yuu asked, looking at Mami.

"School is already over," she replied.

"Really? I must have really been out of it..."

"You did choose to run ten laps around the school instead of joining us for lunch," Kenichi replied. "Kyouko thought you were crazy."

"Seriously," Kyouko nodded. "Why the heck would you choose to skip lunch?"

"I think running laps around this giant ass school willingly is crazier...you also may wanna watch yourself, Narukami. The track team wants you. Your cousin too."

"Madoka too?" Yuu asked.

"Yeah. She joined you in your run at around the third lap and you started racing each other."

Yuu let out a small sigh as he looked out of the window. At least the rain had stopped.

"What happened after that?" he asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.

"Well, we took a math test," Mami recalled. "You sped through all the questions within the first ten minutes then asked the teacher if you could take a nap. Though in not so many words."

"It was more like..." Kenichi began as he drummed his hand on Yuu's desk to simulate him writing in a blur. "You caught everyone's attention with your loud writing and I thought you were gonna set the test on fire or something. Then you flipped the test on its back and said, 'Done! Tired! Sleep now!'"

"Then you clocked out," Kyouko finished. "The teacher came over and picked your test up and stared at it for like ten minutes before she walked away without looking back at you."

Yuu vowed to never drink that coffee again.

"So...just to clear things up..." Kenichi said with a small cough into his hand. "You're not taking any drugs or the like, are you?"

"No...it was my aunt's coffee..."

"How does coffee make you go on like that?" Kyouko asked.

"She put something in it. Wouldn't tell me. Not sure if I want to know."

"Think you still got a bit of it inside ya," Kenichi said as he lightly slapped Yuu on the back.

"Well, it's been a laugh, but I gotta get home," Kyouko said suddenly. "See ya, Ken."

"Yeah, don't pass out on your way home," he called to her back as she simply waved him off. "Though I gotta run too. See ya tomorrow."

He hoisted his bag over his shoulder and ran off as well, leaving only Yuu and Mami behind.

"Shall we get going then?" Yuu asked as he stood from his desk.

"Are you sure you are all right?" Mami asked. "We can reschedule if you're still tired."

"No, I think a walk would be good for me," Yuu replied. "And...I'm feeling a bit hungry since I didn't eat anything for lunch."

"I see. Then let's get going."

* * *

With Madoka being dragged off by Sayaka somewhere, Yuu was free to go along with Mami without worrying that his cousin was also suffering some sort of coffee crash.

The place Mami took them seemed fairly normal, yet ridiculously spacious on the inside like everything else in this city.

He also took notice just how many girls were inside compared to boys. Probably a two to five ratio. He also saw a lot of girls from his school as well.

"It's crowded," Yuu noted.

"I suppose this place is really popular despite just opening up," Mami said as a waitress lead them to a seat near the windows.

Yuu flipped open the menu and looked at their large selection of cakes and other desserts.

"How are you supposed to decide with all of this?" Yuu wondered.

"I'll have a charlotte as well as a mont blanc with black tea," Mami said to the waitress.

"Fast!" Yuu said as he looked up from the menu.

"Charlotte, mont blanc and black tea," the waitress nodded. "And for you?"

"Huh? Uh..." Yuu quickly looked back down at the list, deciding to just choose the first two that caught his eye. "Cheese cake and coffee cake...? With an orange soda."

"Understood. Please wait while I come back with your order."

"More coffee?" Mami asked curiously to which Yuu could only shrug his shoulders.

As they waited Yuu tried looking through his notes for the day to see what he had missed. They were amazingly detailed.

"What exactly was in that coffee?" Mami asked as she tried reading his notes upside down.

"I'm...not sure if I should know," Yuu replied as he closed the notebook. "Maybe I should ask for more tomorrow. It helps me through the school day."

"I...don't think that would be healthy...especially if you can't remember anything."

"Maybe...but if I keep drinking it I might get used to it. My aunt doesn't seem to have any problems."

"But the memory loss..."

"Maybe if I just drink it on test days..."

Mami simply let out a defeated sigh as Yuu cracked a smile. He looked around the busy restaurant for a moment, wondering what topic he should bring up. Oh.

"Tomoe, when's the next day you are free?"

"When I'm free?" She repeated.

"Yeah. We should head to..._that place_ and see what you can do," Yuu said. "I don't think you'll be the last one to be dragged in."

"Ahh, like training for when something else happens, correct?" Mami asked.

"Yeah. Especially since Madoka and I were making things up as we went along...having some sort of plan might be better next time."

"Yes that would be a good idea," Mami nodded. "Then, perhaps sometime during the weekend? I know its important but we shouldn't put off school unless someone actually does get dragged in."

Yuu agreed with that. There was no time limit to the contract with Kyubey after all so they were free to take their time.

Their order came soon after that and they were enjoying themselves and bouncing ideas of what exactly the Midnight Channel was and what exactly is the world behind the TV when Mami suddenly leaned tot he side to look at something behind Yuu.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The person behind you," she said. "She looks familiar..."

"Familiar?"

Yuu turned his head around and saw only a mass of black hair. As if on cue, the girl let out a small sigh as she threw her head back, smacking him right in the nose.

"Ouch!" they said at the same time as she placed her hands on her head while Yuu rubbed his nose.

"I'm sorry!" the girl said as she turned around.

"Kirika, are you okay?" her companion asked.

"Huh, Kure?" Yuu asked looking up as well.

"You're...Narukami-san..." Kirika said slowly.

"Someone you know, Kirika?"

"Y-yes...they're classmates..."

"I see. Good afternoon, my name is Mikuni Oriko."

It was girl wearing a red sailor uniform that Yuu didn't recognized. She had green eyes and silver hair like his own except hers was much longer and she had it tied into a single ponytail on the left side of her head that reached down a little past her shoulders.

"Y-yeah...I'm Narukami Yuu," Yuu replied.

"My name is Tomoe Mami," Mami said as well. "A pleasure to meet you, Mikuni-san."

"And you as well," Oriko nodded.

"If you don't mind me asking, that's the uniform for Shirome isn't it?"

"Yes, that is right."

"Ah, I thought so. I thought about going there but the commute was just a bit far. How is it?"

"The classes are pretty standard I suppose, but the material may be a bit further than other schools..."

"Shirome?" Yuu asked as he looked at Kirika.

"It's...an all-girls school..." Kirika replied quietly as Mami and Oriko were chatting away. "Umm...is your nose okay?"

"I think so," Yuu nodded, check quickly to make sure it wasn't bleeding. He then looked over at the other two girls. Oriko seems to have gotten up and walked over to Mami so they could talk without shouting over Yuu and Kirika. "Sorry. Looks like we interrupted you two."

"Oh no...we were just getting ready to leave..." Kirika replied before looking at him with worry. "Are you...okay now? "

"Did...I do something crazy to you?"

"No...you were just..crazy?" she asked before turning her head away. "Sorry..."

"No...I think I was being crazy too...huh..."

"W-what?" Kirika asked as she turned back to him. "Is there...something on my face?"

"No...it's just that we've never really talked before today even though we sit right next to each other," Yuu replied. "Except for the time you told us about the Midnight Channel anyway. Was Mikuni the one who told you about it."

"Yes..." Kirika nodded. "Did it actually work?"

"No...we all saw the same image it seems."

"I see..."

Kirika looked a bit disappointed. Yuu wondered if she had been hoping to try it out for herself once she got a confirmation whether or not it actually worked.

"Kirika?" Oriko called out. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes!" Kirika called back as she stood p. "Then...I'll see you at school..."

"Yeah, see you later," Yuu nodded as Kirika left and he turned back to Mami, who was looking a little red for some reason. "Tomoe? Are you feeling okay?"

"Huh?" she asked with a start. "Oh, I'm fine, really!"

"But your face is all red..."

"It's just a little hot in here, really!"

She then quickly went back to her cake leaving Yuu to simply shrug his shoulders and do the same.

* * *

The two of them left the restaurant about half an hour later. Yuu thought the cakes were really good but he could see why Mami felt it would be weird to go there alone. Pretty much every table had a pair or a group with them. Maybe if he went to get the cakes to go instead.

"You really didn't have to pay for both of us," Mami was saying.

"It's fine," Yuu replied. "I still have plenty left over."

"If you say so..."

The two of them walked a bit further down the street to a crosswalk before either of them spoke again.

"What are you planning to do now?" Mami asked.

"I don't have anything planned," Yuu replied. "Probably will just head home."

"Then...would you accompany for a little bit longer?"

"Sure, why not?"

* * *

Yuu wasn't sure where Mami was planning on taking him but he certainly hadn't expected her to take him to the hospital of all places.

"Your parents?" he guessed.

"I was hoping to introduce you to them," Mami said shyly. "Is it too much?"

"No, it's fine," Yuu replied as he followed Mami inside.

* * *

The corridors of the hospital reminded Yuu a lot of the school with the exception that the private rooms actually had solid walls rather than glass ones. The outer walls however were still made of glass.

It was like the architects of the city had a thing for glass walls. It certainly made the city look beautiful at night but he felt that they were all extremely fragile and could be destroyed in a bad storm.

"Oh yeah, Narukami-san," Mami said suddenly as she turned to him, causing him to stop. "I never did thank you for saving my parents, did I?"

"What are you talking about?" Yuu asked lamely as he avoided her gaze.

"There's no need to hide it," Mami said with a smile. "I was wondering about it for a while if it really was you or not but when the reporters came that day at school, you said 'at that time' when they started talking about the accident."

"So I did..." Yuu nodded.

"You were there when the accident happened, correct?"

Yuu nodded.

"And you helped us, correct? After all, you said that you only wanted to help people when you saved me from that Shadow creature."

"I don't want to make a big deal out of it," Yuu said, still not meeting her eye. "It would bother my family. Reporters after all..."

"I understand."

"So can you not tell your parents either?"

"That's...a little bit late..." Mami said bashfully as she turned her head away form Yuu who turned toward her in shock before sighing.

"Of course it is..." he muttered as they continued toward the the room.

* * *

Mami's parents were nice people and they had been very eager to meet Yuu.

The first thing they did was thank him from the bottom of their hearts and asked him to take care of Mami for them, to his...friend's embarrassment.

Were they friends? Yuu wondered as he excused himself from the room a little while later while Mami opted to remain until the end of visiting hours. He supposed they were or will be eventually, like Junko had said.

After all, it would be hard not to be friends with someone that seemed to really wanted to be your friend if Mami's constant invitations were showing him.

He might not be the most socially capable person he knew but he could tell that much.

Still, she didn't know how long he would be staying in Mitakihara and he wondered if she would still attempt to be friends if she knew he'd be gone at the end of the year.

No one in the other schools did.

But that wasn't a problem he should be worried about right now.

What he should be worried about...is that he was lost.

"Why is everything in this city so big?" he grumbled as he turned another corner to find another stairway. "I went down...so how in the world did I end up on a higher floor?"

Nevertheless he continued his way down, hoping to find a way out before the sun went down.

Finally he opened another door, only to find himself in a large back garden of sorts with several birds hanging around.

Some were just hopping across the ground, probably looking for scraps of food that visitors or patients would probably give them. Others were perched on top of trees or one of the many statues of various designs that filled the garden.

"At least I'm outside..." he sighed as he made his way through the garden, hoping to come across someone that could probably lead him to the exit.

Thankfully, luck was on his side.

He spotted a pair of legs stretched out in front of a bench that was flanked by two large statues. It's owner seemed to be scattering either seeds or crumbs toward the birds in front of them.

"Um, excuse me!" Yuu called out as he ran over to them.

The person's body jerked in surprise as they jumped out of the bench and turned toward him.

It was a girl.

She had long black hair that reached down past her waist tied into two braids that were held together by a single large purple bow each and her bangs were split apart with a black hairband. She was wearing a two piece set of long purple pajamas that didn't seem to fit her as well as a pair of red rimmed glasses over her purple eyes.

She was also looking at Yuu in confusion and shock as the birds around them flew off, having been frightened by her sudden jump.

"Y-yes?" she asked him softly.

* * *

Chapter's End Corner

**Harouki:** A secret revealed! A chance encounter! A start of something new? Or a continuation of this meaningless drabble?

**Sayaka:** What?

**Harouki:** If there was one thing that I've wondered about the series, is why no one seems to wonder about Homura's sudden shift in personality. Did the people at the hospital not notice the once shy and quiet girl that seemed to shrink away from everything suddenly stopped wearing her hair in braids and gave up her glasses? Maybe no one cared about her. Welp, that's gonna change, here and now!

**Sayaka**: Uh...right...

**Harouki:** Not much to say here except that I really am not good at writing Slice of Life bits without some sort of basis. But that's the entire appeal of Persona 4. Wake up, go to school, save the world!

**Sayaka**: What about the coffee scene?

**Harouki**: That was also inspired. By another Madoka fanfic by the name of A Hero. Though...I can't believe FanFiction deletes words that go over a certain character limit. That ruins the fun out of everything. Anyway, not much left to say...

**Sayaka:** Except that you are a horrible, horrible person with that ending?

**Harouki:** As usual of course. See you next chapter where hopefully I'll move onto the next Midnight Channel.

**Sayaka:** At least I actually showed up this time, if only to yell.

**Harouki:** You'll get your chance to shine...eventually...and remember! New chapters are fueled by Reviews!


	6. Chapter 6: Prayer for Two

**Chapter 6: Prayer For Two**

* * *

**Wednesday, September 16****th****: Raining**

"What is going on?" Akemi Homura asked.

She stared at the wall as she ran a hand over her heart. Her heartbeat was dangerously high and she could feel a small pain in her chest.

Taking a few deep breaths she managed to calm herself down as she spun on her heel and returned to her room to think.

"My Soul Gem is missing...or it doesn't exist..." she muttered to herself as she sat down on the bed. "How is that possible?

She rubbed her eyes for a moment as she took a better look around her room. On her bedside table were her glasses as well as the admission papers for Mitakihara Middle school, nothing out of the ordinary.

However, beside that was a large yellow office envelope as well as a small book with a metal lock keeping it shut.

"A diary?" she wondered as she picked it up and placed the glasses over her eyes. "I don't remember this...perhaps this could tell me what's going on...the key is..."

Her hands dove into her pockets and after a bit of searching, she found a small key the same color as the lock and used it to open the lock. Flipping through the pages she located where the entries began.

**_Febuaray 22nd_**

_Otou-san and Okaa-san sent me this diary as a birthday gift. I don't think I'll write in it much but it is better than just sitting around between treatments._

"Well that explains where the diary came from..." she muttered as she skimmed the next few entries. It seems that this timeline's Homura only wrote in it about once a week about meaningless drivel. Then, near beginning of April, another entry caught her attention.

**_Saturday, April 4th_**

_A car accident happened in the city today. They brought in three people a few rooms down from mine. A family and the girl looks to be my age. She doesn't seem as hurt as her parents though._

_The news was talking about how a boy with white hair wearing red scarf and a black coat that seemed to have applied first aid on them to keep them alive but he disappeared before the reporters came and only got the story from other witnesses._

_The news was talking about him as if he was a modern day hero._

_No...he saved three people's lives. _

_He is a hero._

* * *

**Previous Day**

* * *

**Tuesday, April 21th: Cloudy**

Yuu stared at the girl in front of her while she stared back at him.

The silence between the two of them started to become suffocating until the girl finally spoke.

"U-umm...can I help you?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh um..." Yuu stammered as he tried to remember what he was doing. "Oh right...can you show me the way out? I'm lost."

The girl looked like she rather not as she looked at her things on the bench, which included a bag of seeds as well as what seemed to be a pen on top of a stack of papers, then back down to the ground where the birds had been gathering around before she jumped and scared them off.

"Umm...yes," the girl nodded as she quickly grabbed her things. "I can do that..."

Yuu let out a small sigh of relief as the girl turned around and started walking toward the other end of the garden while Yuu fell into step behind her.

Frankly, the girl reminded him a bit of Kirika from the first impressions anyway. Though it was only a superfluous resemblance from their shy personalities and their hair color.

However, the silence between the two was suffocating, especially since the girl was keeping quite a distance between the two of them. He needed to say something...or at least know her name. But how to transition into it?

"Thanks again for showing me the way," Yuu said, noting that the girl's shoulder's jerked slightly at the sudden spark of conversation. "Sorry for the trouble...um..."

"Akemi...Homura," the girl replied. "And...it's nothing big..."

"No, you really saved me, Akemi," Yuu replied. "I'm Narukami Yuu. Nice to meet you."

Homura simply nodded but didn't reply, bringing an end to the line of conversation as the silence returned. He wished someone else was with him. They probably could come up with another line of conversation than he could. Though if he wasn't careful, he might end up losing his voice again.

But for some reason, he can't help but be curious about the girl in front of him.

"Umm..."

Homura suddenly spoke up but didn't continue.

"Yes?" Yuu prompted her.

"That uniform...which school is it from?" she asked, looking back at Yuu for a moment.

"Mitakihara Middle School," Yuu replied. "Are you a middle school student too?"

"Before I came into the hospital...yes..."

"For what reason...? If you don't mind my asking."

"It's...a heart condition."

Yuu blinked at her as she kept her eyes forward.

That wasn't just something a person would tell a random person they just met ten minutes ago. If it was a heart condition...then it was probably a bad thing for him to have shocked her a bit earlier.

"I see..." Yuu said keeping his voice as neutral as possible. "Sorry to have scared you."

Still...Yuu couldn't help but wonder why exactly she was telling this to him. It's not like she had any reason to, especially on such a...probably sensitive topic.

He turned his head back towards Homura and he noticed that the girl was shuffling the papers in her arms as if she was looking for something.

"Umm, do you need help?" Yuu asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"No I got...ah!"

Homura had attempted to get the pages back under control, only for the bulk of the pages to slip between the two ends she was holding, spilling all across the floor.

"Oh no!" she cried as she quickly bent down to pick them up.

Feeling somewhat responsible for this little mess, Yuu bent down to help as well, picking up the papers that slid towards him while the girl was busy fretting over the ones in front of her. Feeling slightly curious, he glanced down at it.

It appeared to be a novel of sorts, one that she probably wrote herself, making Yuu wonder just how long she's been in the hospital or did she simply find some sort of inspiration and wrote all these pages very quickly.

He picked up a few more pages while reading some random snippets here and there. There seems to be two main protagonists, a boy and a girl. The girl was an plain girl with nothing really special about her save for being hospitalized for an unknown disease. The boy was actually a young god that commanded the power of thunder living amongst humans to fight an enemy that threatened the entire world. The two of them met when the boy descended from the clouds into the hospital's gardens where the girl was and asked her to lead him out of the hospital...

Wait a minute.

"This is really a coincidence..." Yuu muttered as he looked up to see Homura looking at him in horror. "I...said that out loud didn't I?"

"U-umm...that is...this is...I..." Homura stammered as Yuu calmly gathered up the remaining pages, stacked them neatly in his hands and held them out to her. "I was just..."

"Acting out a scene?" he asked as he looked down at the pages. "But...do I really look like an 'cold and introverted person with a hidden heart of gold' to you?"

"I'm sorry!" Homura said immediately as she bent into a low bow. "I didn't mean anything by it!"

"Did you write this yourself?"

"I...yes..."

"Can I read it?"

"Eh?"

"Can I read it?" Yuu asked again, tapping the pages with the back of his hand as Homura stared at him. "It's interesting."

"Umm...I...that's a bit...um...yes..."

So, after making it to the lobby, Yuu and Homura sat down and he started reading once Homura rearranged the pages properly, a process that seemed to take a lot longer than necessary.

As he read, he noticed Homura shifting uncomfortably in her seat, occasionally glancing either at the pages in his hands or at his face, probably to gauge his reactions. And judging by _her _reaction, he probably wasn't showing enough of one.

"W-well?" she asked nervously once Yuu finished reading and stacked the pages neatly together again.

"Like I thought, it's interesting," Yuu replied honestly.

"But...?" Homura asked nervously.

"It's a bit difficult to read," he replied just as honestly. "The grammar is off in some areas. I sometimes get confused at who is speaking. The pacing is off too. You're speeding through it and not giving enough details."

"Hmm...I see..." Homura nodded with a hand to her chin in thought. Yuu thought she might have been the type that couldn't take criticism well but she seriously seems to be mulling it over. "Can you show me where, exactly?"

"Here and here. And also this part here..."

Yuu wasn't sure how much time he had spent discussing Homura's novel with her, but when he looked up from it, he noticed that the lobby was nearly empty and it was getting dark outside.

Finally, a soft chime rang out through the halls of the hospital, indicating the end of visiting hours.

"I guess time's up," he noted before turning to Homura. The girl however, was looking straight down at her novel. "What's wrong?"

"Umm...can I ask you a favor?" Homura asked.

"Yes?"

"Can you...umm...come back and...help me with this more? That is...if it's not too much trouble..."

"Of course. I want to see how it ends after all."

Homura's expression brightened at that as the two of them stood up.

"Do you have a cell phone?" Yuu asked as he pulled out his own.

"Oh...no I don't," Homura replied sadly.

"Hmm...what's your room number? Although I'm not sure if I could find it easily."

"Umm...if you ask the front desk they'll call my room and I can come meet you."

"What about if you're in the garden again?"

"I think they'll give you a map..."

It wasn't the greatest of plans. Quite frankly it was barely a plan at all and would involve a lot of trouble on Yuu's part. But it would be rude to go back on his promise right now.

"Do you usually have a time you go to the garden?" he asked.

"Usually after dinner," Homura replied. "So...around six or seven?"

At the mention of dinner, Yuu rubbed his stomach. The cakes seemed so long ago, coupled with the fact that he didn't eat any lunch, he realized that he was starving.

"Then...I'll try and come again next week," Yuu said as he stood up. He wondered if Tomohisa was still awake or if he should grab something on the way home instead. "Class ends around half past two so...I'll come at three?"

"Okay," Homura nodded as she stood up as well.

With a last nod to the girl, Yuu turned around and left the hospital, still wondering what he should do for food as Homura watched his disappearing figure.

"White hair...it can't be..." she muttered as she shook her head and straightened out the papers to her novel before heading back to her room.

* * *

"Onee-chan are you okay?"

"Huh?"

Sakura Kyouko lifted her head up off her desk, feeling a small trail of drool trickle out the corner of her mouth, and turned to the voice.

"Huh? Oh it's just you, Momo..." she muttered as she wiped her drool off with her sleeve and turned back at her desk.

Her homework was in front of her, not even halfway done and it was almost ten.

"Are you okay?" Sakura Momo asked again. "You've been out of it lately..."

"Homework's just a bit hard, you know?" Kyouko replied with a small laugh.

"Really? Can't you ask Ken-san for help?"

Kyouko made a face at that.

It's bad enough her debt to him was already growing fairly out of control, she didn't want to give him the opportunity to add to it by charging for his help.

"No way," she replied as she turned back to her homework and started writing again. "I'd rather turn in a blank paper than ask for his help on homework. I'd get the same grade with much less work after all."

"Is that right?" her sister asked. "Are you sure you're not sick?"

"I never get sick!" Kyouko proudly boasted.

"But you've been eating a lot less lately. You're even giving me your lunches...are you on a diet?"

"Y-yeah...there's the physical thing coming up...ahaha..."

"Is that so?" Momo asked as she tilted her head to the side. "But I think you look fine..."

"Ahahaha, thanks for the vote of confidence," Kyouko said as she stood up and walked over to her sister to give her a hug. "But don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Why don't you go and get some sleep?"

"Okay..." Momo nodded as she headed toward the door. "Don't stay up too late either."

"I'll be fine," Kyouko replied waving it off. "Don't worry about it."

As Momo closed the door, Kyouko waited until she was well out of earshot before slamming her head back down on the desk.

"Ahhh...I'm so hungry..." she sighed as she got back to work.

* * *

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

The old man and the young woman sat across from him once more.

"The ability to control a Persona, is the ability to control one's heart, which is strengthened through bonds that you form with others," Igor began. "But I assume you realized that for yourself."

"The Magician," Margaret nodded as she opened the book to reveal the Magician Arcana alongside a moving picture of Madoka. "The Arcana that represents action...initiative and self confidence...As you continue to deepen your bond, the power of the Arcana will only grow."

That's what Madoka was? Or is that what she needs help to become?

"But that is not all," Igor said. "You have created two more bonds within such a short amount of time."

Two cards appeared over Margaret and fell into her book as the pages turned, revealing the Empress Arcana as well as a picture of Mami.

"The Empress Arcana representing prosperity, creativity, and comfort," Margaret explained. "This bond will prove invaluable in the future."

Mami certainly did seem like a nice girl and it certainly was pleasant to be around her.

"And...this is..."

The pages turned once more revealing another Arcana. It depicted a picture of a humanoid figure that resembled a clown surrounded by animals with the number 0 at the bottom of the card.

"The Jester," Igor answered. "It would appear that you are not only beginning your own journey, but you have also allowed another to start their own. She does not hold the power of the Wild as you do, but as you are the one who started her journey, you must be prepared to see it through."

* * *

**Wednesday April 22nd: Sunny**

By the time Yuu made his way to familiar territory most of the convenient stores were closing up shop and the twenty-four hour ones had yet to begin restocking their shelves in preparation for the next day so all he had to eat were a few onigiri.

Tomohisa had gone to bed early and he didn't want to use the kitchen without permission so he decided to just head up to sleep. He hoped he wasn't going to make it a habit of heading to bed without a proper meal in the future.

And so, Yuu woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and just a little bit hungry. So he quickly got out of bed and did his morning ritual so he could get down to breakfast.

Once downstairs, he found Tomohisa cooking breakfast as usual.

"Good morning, Yuu-kun," his uncle said. "Looks like you're up first today."

"Madoka?" Yuu asked.

"Probably still sleeping off the coffee. Looks like it's still too early for her."

"Speaking off which..."

"I...think one day a week with that coffee is enough for you too," Tomohisa said with a wry smile. "Besides, Junko only makes it when she wakes up early...and on her own."

"I see..." Yuu nodded. "So...once a month then?"

"Haha...most likely. Speaking of which, can you wake the two of them up? Or at the very least, help Tatsuya out."

"Sure."

Yuu turned around and headed back upstairs toward Madoka's room and stopped with his door on the handle. Vividly remembering what happened last time, he knocked on the door loudly. Not hearing a denial of entry, he slowly opened the door and peered inside.

Madoka was still fast asleep on her bed with a strange satisfied smile on her face. From whatever dream she was currently having no doubt.

"Madoka...oi Madoka," Yuu said as he went over and gave her a light shake on the shoulder.

"Hafu~"

"Madoka!"

Yuu rested a knee on the bed and grabbed both of the girl's shoulders this time and shook her a bit harder this time but the girl continued to snooze on.

"Is this really a coffee crash?" he wondered for a moment before Madoka suddenly turned to the side and hugged his arm. "Madoka?"

"Mhmm...ahhhh..." she let out a small hum as she opened her mouth wide.

"Oh no..."

"Hamfu~!"

"Grk...gah...!"

And chomped down on his arm.

"Why me?" he wondered to no one in particular as he wretched his arm out of Madoka's teeth and grip. "I'll leave her alone for now."

Exiting the room, he made his way toward his aunt's room, stopping by the bathroom as he did to wash his arm of the bite as well as soaking a small hand towel as he did.

He found his aunt sleeping with the covers completely over her face as usual.

And as usual, Tatsuya was on top of her, pounding his hands over her head area.

"Good morning, Tatsuya," Yuu greeted his much younger cousin.

"Morning, Yuu!" Tatsuya replied as he waved at him before Yuu picked Tatsuya up and placed him on the floor.

"Time to wake your Mama up."

"Wake up, Mama! Mama!"

Yuu grabbed the blanket over Junko's head and pulled it off and slapped the wet towel over her face.

"GYAAAAAHHH!" the woman screamed as she shot up and looked toward him.

"Good morning, Junko-san," Yuu greeted as she blinked at him and picked up the towel.

"Harsh as always, Yuu-kun," Junko said as she smacked the towel in his face.

"Madoka is having trouble waking up," Yuu continued as the towel slid off his face and into his hand before he dropped it on Tatsuya's head, causing the boy to start patting it as if it was a hat.

"Oh? That's unusual. Well, she's not going to be skipping school in any case. Give me about five minutes and she'll be all ready to go."

Yuu nodded as he stepped aside for Junko to get up and followed her to Madoka's room where she shut the door to keep him from watching.

The first minute passed in silence.

The second minute, he began to hear something but it was too quiet to make out completely.

The third minute the sound became a bit louder and he was starting to become extremely worried.

At the fourth minute, an unearthly wail began blaring from the room causing Yuu's body to twitch uncomfortably and he felt like beating his head against the wall.

At the final minute, Yuu had already fled downstairs to the kitchen.

"Something wrong?" Tomohisa asked when Yuu fell down into his seat at the table feeling slightly ill and clammy.

"I...don't know..." Yuu replied weakly just as Junko came in with a still exhausted looking Madoka in tow. "And I don't _want_ to know..."

* * *

Yuu sighed to himself as he lugged his extra baggage up the dozens of steps toward the school building.

"She's still out of it?" Sayaka asked as she and Hitomi walked beside him.

"Yeah," Yuu nodded as he half carried half dragged his cousin who had fallen back asleep halfway to the meeting point.

"I didn't think a coffee crash would last for this long," Hitomi said.

Madoka made a small stream of indecipherable sounds as she remained half asleep on Yuu's shoulder.

"Don't you think it would have been better if she just stayed home today?" Sayaka asked as she poked Madoka in the cheek to see whether or not she was awake.

"Her mom said she had to go," Yuu replied. "Careful she-"

"Ha-amfu..."

"Yeow!"

"She bites..."

"Thanks for the warning!" Sayaka grumbled as she pulled her finger away and rubbed it.

"But...would she be able to do any work like this?" Hitomi asked as Madoka went back to an idle state.

"You haven't tried waking her up properly?" Sayaka asked as well.

"Well...I do have this," Yuu replied as he shifted Madoka into a more manageable position so he could pull what looked like a thermos out of his bag. "It's coffee."

"No," Sayaka said immediately.

"It's just normal coffee," Yuu said, holding it out to Sayaka. "Want some?"

"No."

"Shizuki?"

"I'll...pass if that's okay with you," Hitomi replied.

Yuu simply shrugged his shoulders as he put the coffee back into his bag and they climbed the stairs to the second year classrooms.

"Ok, she's your problem now," Yuu nodded as he thrust Madoka into Sayaka's arms and quickly ran up the steps to the third year classrooms.

"W-wait a minute, Narukami-kun!" Sayaka shouted after him as she buckled a but under her friend's weight. "Oh, don't you dare do it, Madoka!"

"Haaaaa-amfu!"

"Gyaaaaah!"

"Oh dear," Hitomi said with a hint of concern as she placed a hand to her cheek while Sayaka tried to pull her ear out of Madoka's mouth.

"Yo Narukami," Kenichi said as Yuu climbed the last step. "Was that your cousin's friend's scream?"

"Madoka probably bit her again," Yuu replied simply as Kenichi raised an eyebrow.

"I feel like I should comment on that but I have no idea where to even begin so I'll just chalk it up as a joke and laugh."

"She's suffering from a coffee crash right now."

"Huh, and you're not? Well, I guess you already did when you clonked out during the test."

As the two of them walked down the hall, they noticed someone sprawled out on the floor.

"What the...Kyouko?" Kenichi asked as the two boys ran up to the girl.

"Ohh?" the girl groaned as she turned toward Yuu. "Huh...? Oh...it's you guys..."

"You don't look good," Yuu noted.

"Ahaha...don't worry about me..." Kyouko said as she used the wall to herself up to her feet. "Just head to class without me...I'm all right...I'll catch up later..."

At that moment a loud gurgling noise reached their ears as they glanced down toward Kyouko's stomach...where the sound was still resounding from.

"Hungry?" Yuu asked as Kenichi slapped his forehead in exasperation.

"Help me...!" she suddenly begged as she latched onto Kenichi's waist with tears forming in her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kenichi shouted as he tried to pull her arms off of him. "Let go!"

"I was lying...! I'm not gonna make it much further...you gotta help me!"

"I don't have any food on me! And you still owe me money!"

"Put it with the rest of my tab!"

"I wonder if I should leave them alone," Yuu muttered to himself.

"Dude, don't leave me with her!" Kenichi shouted as he grabbed Yuu's arm.

"But I don't have any food with me either."

"T-then..." Kenichi said with a grunt as he reached into his pocket and held out his wallet toward Yuu. "Just quickly head to the cafeteria and get some onigiri or some bread."

"It's fine, I have my own money," Yuu replied as he pushed the wallet back.

"You're too much of a nice guy...you know that, Narukami?" Kenichi said before turning to the crowd around them. "This isn't a show, people! Don't you have classes to get to?"

Yuu was surprised to see the crowd quickly disperse by Kenichi's order. Maybe it's because he's the son of one of the teachers and no one wanted to get on his bad side or something.

However, as Yuu headed back toward the staircase to climb up to the cafeteria level, he heard several people whisper around him.

"That was Sakura Kyouko from Class 2 wasn't it...?"

"Yeah, looks like she's mooching off the transfer student now..."

"Wonder if her family church is doing poorly..."

"What do you expect from a church in Japan...?"

"..."

No, right now he should focus on getting food for Kyouko. There's only ten minutes left until class starts, he needed to hurry.

* * *

"Something's off about Kyouko lately," Kenichi said to Yuu at their next break. Once Kyouko had wolfed down the food that Yuu got her, she immediately placed her head on her desk and dozed off. "Hell, sleeping in class is nothing new for her, but doing it every single day..."

"Is something happening at her house?" Yuu asked.

"Heck if I know," Kenichi shrugged. "Haven't hung out at her place in forever..."

"Did something happen that cause you two to drift apart?" Mami asked.

"I wouldn't say that it was a single event but..." he pointed toward the sleeping Kyouko. "Hard to do anything with a friend that sleeps every chance she gets, right?"

"But, you two are still friends, right?"

Kenichi could only shrug.

"I wonder about that..."

He didn't say much after that and neither Yuu nor Mami felt inclined to press and the topic dropped, allowing the next couple of days to pass in peace.

* * *

**Sunday, April 26th: Cloudy**

Yuu let out a sigh as he placed his pencil down after finishing the last bit of his homework.

"School's a bit ahead..." he sighed as he rubbed his shoulder. "At least I'm finally caught up."

He then flipped open his phone and checked the time. It was a little past noon.

"Perhaps it would best to contact Tomoe now," Yuu muttered to himself as he looked through his contacts list.

_"__Hello?__"_ came Mami's voice.

"Tomoe, it's Narukami."

_"__Ah, yes! How can I help you?__"_

"Are you okay for training?"

_"__Ah, yes, I was wondering when you were going to call about that. Is Kaname-san coming too?_"

"I'm asking her right now," Yuu replied as he exited his room and walked over to Madoka's, knocking on her door before. "Madoka are you free?"

"Eh?" Madoka looked up from her bed where she was reading a manga of some sort with a bag of chips right next to her.

"I...guess you are?" Yuu said slowly..

"Is something up?" Madoka asked as she sat up.

"I'm thinking of heading into the TV and train with Tomoe," he replied, pointing to his phone.

"Ah, that's right. We promised Kyubey we'd look around didn't we?" Madoka said as she placed a bookmark at her spot and stood up. "I'm ready."

"Ok. Then we'll meet you in the TV, Tomoe."

_"__Okay, I just have to hold the glasses up to it, correct?"_ Mami asked.

"That's right. See you in a few minutes."

"_Y-yes...I understand..._"

"I'm going to tell Papa we're heading out," Madoka said. "Think we can fit through the TV in your room or are we going to have to sneak through the living room?"

"If he's out in the garden then we can use the living room," Yuu said as the two of them headed downstairs. "I think mine is too small."

Luckily, Tomohisa was indeed out in the garden allowing them free use of the TV but when they got there, Mami was nowhere to be seen.

"Kyubey, what happened to Tomoe-san?" Madoka asked.

"She hasn't arrived," Kyubey replied as he turned toward the entrance. "Although...a hand has been poking at the entrance way for a little while. Look."

Yuu turned his head at the stack of TVs and sure enough, he could see a finger poking through it. It appears that Mami was still a bit afraid of going through the TV.

Not wanting to spend too much time waiting for her, Yuu's hand shot out and grabbed Mami's wrist, causing a loud shriek to come through the TV.

"There's nothing to worry about, Tomoe," Yuu said, ignoring the ringing in his ear.

"E-eh? Narukami-san?" came Mami's voice from across the screen. "Jeez...you scared me..."

"Sorry. But we need to get moving. I'll help you through."

"R-right."

With a small grunt, Yuu managed to pull her through, but the girl lost her footing when she came out, causing her to fall into Yuu's chest.

"Are you okay?" Yuu asked.

"Eh? Eeeeh?" Mami shrieked as she quickly took a step back. "Y-yes...I'm fine."

"That's good...um...you can let go of my hand now."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Mami said as she quickly pulled her hands behind her.

"Ueheehee..." Madoka giggled as she placed a hand over her mouth.

"What's so funny, Madoka?" Yuu asked as he pulled out his glasses from his pocket and placed them over his eyes.

"Nothing," Madoka replied as she and Mami put their own glasses on as well. "So...where are we going to train at?"

"If I may make a recommendation," Kyubey said as it swished its tail to the side. "There seems to be a large Shadow that has appeared in the same area that Tomoe Mami had been rescued from. It may be prudent to eliminate it before it grows beyond your ability."

"Do new Shadows often appear when a big one gets destroyed?" Madoka asked.

"Unfortunately, we still haven't found a way to collect _all_ of the energy that is released when a particularly strong shadow is destroyed so it is not uncommon that the uncollected energy materializes as a weaker but still powerful Shadow."

"Is there a reason for that?" Mami asked.

"Human emotions are difficult to measure. Each and every human experiences and expresses the same set of emotions a bit differently from someone else. It is why there are several different kinds of Shadows but they all tend to follow a certain pattern, which allows me to prepare their corresponding container before they are destroyed. Particularly strong negative emotions born from humans who become trapped in this world are impossible to predict and tend to materialize in a shell outside of expected parameters meaning that I must make a completely new container upon its destruction."

"And with people suddenly being dragged in here, more 'big' Shadows are appearing, making it difficult for you to do your work in harvesting the 'small' Shadows normally," Yuu finished, causing Kyubey to nod.

"Frankly, I do not expect you to figure out the reason within any short amount of time," Kyubey said. "I simply expect you to try as per the terms of your contract. You could take as long as you need. I am nothing if not patient."

"Is that right...?" Yuu asked. "Then we better get started. "Let's go, Tomoe, Madoka."

"Yeah!" Madoka said as she shot her fist into the air.

"I'll do my best..." Mami nodded.

* * *

"T-this is what it looked like?" Mami asked as she stared at the place that was her Shadow's dungeon. "It looks like...like..."

"A house of a children's weekend morning program?" Madoka offered and Mami nodded slowly.

"Did I really come up with this?"

"Well...the hosts of those programs are often surrounded by friends after all. And now you're our friend so everything's fine isn't it?"

"I suppose so...yes, everything's fine."

"Then, let's go, you two," Yuu said as he held out his hand, allowing the Fool Arcana to fall down toward it. "Persona!"

The card shattered in his grasp as Izanagi rose out from the flames behind him.

"Amazing..." Mami said softly as she looked at the Persona in awe.

"You can do it too, remember, Tomoe-san?" Madoka said as the Magician fell in front of her.

"Yes...I can do it!" Mami nodded as the Empress fell before her.

"Persona!" the girls called out, shattering their cards as well, allowing Inahime and Kichijoten to rise.

Yuu led the way into the dungeon and they were instantly greeted by the familiar Hableries.

"W-what are those?" Mami asked.

"Shadows," Kyubey replied simply.

"Please tell me I didn't make them as well..."

"You didn't make them. They are merely one of the 'patterns' I mentioned earlier. These weaker Shadows are born from other humans and are simply attracted to the Shadow that is attempting to claim this place for itself. By the way, you should look up."

"Eh?"

Mami turned her head up just as a Hablerie came barreling down towards her head.

"Kyaah!" she shrieked as she ducked toward the ground with her hands over her head. Kichijoten swung the butt of its rifle up towards it like a bat, sending it flying up towards the sky before spinning the rifle around and firing a single golden bolt at it.

The bolt flew toward the air and pierced through the Shadow, destroying it in a single shot.

"Nice shot," Yuu said with a thumbs up.

"Eh?" Mami asked as she looked up at the falling remains of the Shadow. "Did I do that?"

"That's right!" Madoka replied as she clapped her hands together. "You can do it!"

Though the success was extremely small, it was enough to give Mami a large boost of confidence.

"Let's go, Kichijoten!" Mami shouted as she pointed her finger like a gun toward the two more Hableries. "_Double Shot!_"

Kichijoten took aim with its rifle as the barrel began glowing yellow. Mami's hand jerked backward, mimicking a gun firing and Kichijoten fired its rifle.

The bolt looked like a pair of orbs that spun around each before splitting off halfway toward the Shadows, letting one orb destroy one Shadow each.

"Nice double," Yuu said as he clapped his hands.

"This...this isn't so bad," Mami said as she looked up at Kichijoten. "I think I can do this!"

No sooner had she said it than another Hablerie popped up in front of her and licked her face with its tongue. Mami's eyes contracted as she let out a loud scream, prompting her Persona to club the Shadow into the air with its rifle.

The Shadow flew for a good twenty feet before landing on the tip of Izanagi's blade and popping in a puff of dark fog.

"Are you okay?" Yuu asked as he and Madoka walked over to Mami who had collapsed onto her knees.

"I think I'm going to be sick..." she cried as she tried to wipe the slobber from her face.

"But we've only just gotten started," Yuu said, holding his hand out to her. "Hang in there."

Mami looked up at Yuu's hand and then at his face before taking his hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet.

"Right..." she nodded hesitantly.

* * *

They proceeded to fight their way through the dungeon with little effort.

The girls seemed to be okay with Yuu taking charge so he placed himself in the front as Izanagi was a melee orientated Persona with Mami and Kichijoten behind them as Kichijoten proved adequate in using her rifles as clubs while Madoka and Inahime took up the rear.

Eventually they made their way to the spot where they fought Mami's Shadow.

"Is this where the big Shadow is?" Madoka asked as she turned to Kyubey who was resting on her shoulder so they wouldn't lose it during a fight.

"That's right," Kyubey nodded.

"Are you two ready, Madoka, Tomoe?" Yuu asked as he turned to the girls.

"Let's go!" Madoka said as Yuu opened the doors and the three of them ran into the room.

There, sitting at the table that Mami's Shadow once sat at was a pink doll wearing a long brown coat.

"A...doll?" Mami asked.

"No, that is definitely a Shadow," Kyubey replied. "Be careful."

No sooner did it say that, the doll sprung to life as it floated up into the air and slowly turned its gaze over to them.

"Move!" Yuu shouted as the Persona grabbed their humans and dove to the side just as a giant clown faced worm slammed its face into the spot they were standing at.

"That was too close..." Mami gasped as the worm looked up towards her with a fanged grin.

"Let's go, Inahime!" Madoka shouted as the Persona set her down and notched its bow. "_Holy Arrow!_"

The arrow was bathed in a soft light as it flew from the bow, impacting against the Worm Shadow's body, causing it to writhe in pain before turning its gaze on Madoka instead.

"Izanagi!"

The Persona appeared over the Worm and slammed its blade into its back causing it to roar in anger.

It then started to curl its body around and spin wildly shaking Izanagi off of it and smashing it against the wall before sending green shock waves throughout the entire room.

"Are you okay, Narukami-san?" Mami asked as Kichijoten set her down beside Yuu, who was holding his head in pain.

"Yeah," Yuu replied as Madoka ran up to them with Inahime still firing arrows at the Shadow.

"Is it time to do _that_?" Madoka asked as she clapped her hands together.

"Yeah, let's do it," Yuu nodded as Izanagi landed back behind him.

"Right, I can do this!" Mami nodded as Kichijoten placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Synchro!"

The blue flames erupted around the trio as their Persona resonated within them, bestowing them with their armor. But the Shadow wasn't to be out done as it suddenly opened its mouth and coughed out an exact copy of itself.

"What are we going to do now?" Madoka asked.

"You two take care of the original one," Yuu said. "I'll take care of the new one."

"By yourself?" Mami asked.

"I'll be fine...move!"

Yuu shoved the girls to the side and jumped backwards as the second Worm Shadow lunged at them, slamming itself against the ground they were standing at moments ago before it .

"_Zio!_" Yuu shouted as he a yellow lightning bolt shot down toward toward the worm, stopping it in place for just a moment, allowing him to land safely on the ground. "Let's do this!"

The Shadow let out a roar as it lunged at him again, only for Yuu to rush underneath it and slash at its underside, letting it crash to the ground awkwardly.

"Now..." Yuu said as he held his hand out and a card fell down on it. The Empress. "Persona!"

A green angel in golden armor with long white robes appeared above the Shadow and brought its blade down on the Worm.

"Another one?" Madoka shouted as she fired an arrow right into the original Shadow's eye, causing it to thrash around violently.

"Another what?" Mami asked as she shot out its other eye. "Another Shadow?"

"How come Yuu-kun get's three Persona?"

"Three?"

"Look out you two!" Kyubey shouted just as the Shadow lunged at them blindly.

The two of them let out a scream as they quickly dived out of the way. The Shadow continued to move towards the other Shadow before slamming into it and crashing into a wall.

"Are you two okay?" Yuu called out.

"That was scary..." Madoka panted as she placed a hand over her heart. "But that's not fair! How come you get to use so many Persona? You are so lucky!"

"I'm not too sure myself," Yuu replied thinking of the dream as the two Shadows pulled themselves apart. "They're still kicking. Tomoe, can you take care of them?"

"Y-yeah," Mami nodded as she stood up and pointed her rifle straight up into the air. "___**The thunder that reigns in the hearts of mankind, Jinri no Ikazuchi!**_"

She pulled the trigger and fired a blank into the sky. The next instant a small yellow ball of electricity began to expand from between the two Shadows. The electricity cackled wildly as the ball began to expand around the wriggling and thrashing Shadows before enveloping them completely and destroying them, leaving only the small doll Shadow left.

Mami then turned her rifle toward the doll.

"Tiro Finale!" she said as she pulled the trigger, shooting the doll in the head, knocking it out of the chair and onto the ground where it popped in a cloud of smoke.

"Tiro..."

"...Finale?"

The cousins asked her as Mami turned toward them.

"It...just sort of...came out?" Mami asked turning slightly red. "You know...like all the other bits..."

"But there wasn't really anything special about that shot was there?" Yuu asked. "It looked just like a regular shot..."

"Ah, I get it," Madoka nodded as Yuu turned toward her in confusion. "Don't worry about it Yuu-kun. It's just something every Magical Girl wants to do."

"Okay...? Are we done then, Kyubey?"

"Indeed," Kyubey nodded. "All notable Shadows in the area have been eliminated and collected. There are still some standard patterns running about but then, there will _always_ be some standard patterns running about and the number is easily manageable. Will you be returning then?"

"Yeah," Yuu nodded as he looked at his watch. It was almost dinnertime and Tomohisa would be wondering where they were.

"Tomoe-san, do you want to join us for dinner?" Madoka asked as they made their way back to the exit after Kyubey paid them for the day's work.

"Eh? Is it okay?" Mami asked.

"The more the merrier after all."

Mami's face brightened considerably as she happily accepted the offer as Kyubey began tallying up the day's bounty and paid them each another ten thousand yen for the day.

Thankfully, Tomohisa didn't mind at all about an extra guest at dinner and Tatsuya latched onto Mami pretty quickly and often tugged on her hair.

"I'm really sorry about this," Madoka said as she pulled Tatsuya off of Mami for the fifth time.

They were currently sitting around the living room, waiting off the dinner as they watched TV together.

"It's fine," Mami said as she quickly fixed her hair. "He's just playing after all."

"Drill! Drill!" Tatsuya said as he tried to reach for Mami's hair again.

"A man's romance," Yuu muttered looking through a catalog of models, particularly the ship in a bottle section. "Hmm...I wonder if I'm diligent enough to do this..."

"Model building?" Mami asked. "Is that your hobby?"

"It's something to pass the time...wait go back," Yuu said as he quickly held his hand up to Madoka who was channel surfing.

Madoka blinked as she looked at Yuu for a moment before switching back to the previous channel.

"_...tell you? If you don't have any purpose here, then leave_!" a red haired girl wearing a habit was yelling at the camera.

"That's...Sakura-san?" Mami gasped.

"Someone you know?" Madoka asked.

"She's a classmate," Yuu explained as Kyouko glared at the reporter who was trying to question why a church was so empty on a Sunday.

"_No comment!_" Kyouko shouted, looking as if she'd like nothing better than to punch out the cameraman and reporter. "_Don't you people have any real news to cover, or do you spend your weekend mornings harassing people on holy ground?_"

"I don't think I can watch this," Mami said as she took the discarded remote and turned the TV off. "It reminds me too much of what happened the other day..."

"Are all reporters like that?" Madoka asked.

"Maybe they're trying to get fired?" Yuu offered. There wasn't any other reason he could think off for reporters being so...intruding, he supposed was the word.

"I believe there are plenty of other ways to lose one's job without disturbing other people to do it..." Mami sighed as she checked her watch. "It's getting late. I should probably head on home now."

"Do you want me to walk with you?" Yuu asked.

Mami thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.

"It's okay, I couldn't impose on you anymore today," Mami replied. "I'll see you at school tomorrow then, Narukami-san, Kaname-san."

"See you tomorrow, Tomoe-san," Madoka said as Yuu walked her to the door.

"See you at school," Yuu said as Mami nodded and he closed the door behind her.

* * *

**Monday, April 27th: Raining**

"It's raining again..." Madoka said as the cousins walked down the familiar road to school.

"Yeah," Yuu nodded as he looked up at his umbrella.

"Sayaka-chan and Hitomi have probably gone ahead again."

"Yeah."

"The Midnight Channel is going to happen again, right?"

"Yeah."

"Wouldn't it be great if no one appeared?"

"Yeah."

Madoka frowned a bit as she turned her head toward Yuu.

"...You're not listening to me are you?" she asked.

"Yeah," Yuu nodded again with a straight face.

"You're mean..."

"I know."

Yuu's expression broke into a small smile as Madoka let out a miffed gasp and started hitting him in the arm. He really did enjoy these peaceful walks with his cousin.

Especially when she was so fun to tease.

* * *

When Yuu entered the classroom, he was instantly hit with a heavy atmosphere, the source of which seemed to be stemming from Kyouko, who was glaring at everyone who attempted to look at her instead of laying her head on her desk as usual.

"Is something wrong?" Yuu asked and was treated to the red head's glare.

"Oh, it's you," she said with a sigh. "I don't want to talk about it."

Yuu wondered if he should ask if her bad mood had anything to do with the report he saw last night but he didn't have enough courage to ask her, for fear of retaliation. Which proved to be a good idea.

"Yo Kyouko," Kenichi said as he entered the classroom. "What was with that report yester-"

His voice trailed off as it was replaced by a high pitch squeal as his knees buckled and he fell to the ground with tears in his eyes.

"Shut up, you're annoying me," Kyouko said as she turned back toward the front of the class.

"Y-you..." Kenichi cried, his voice unnaturally high as he held his hands between his legs. "WHY?"

"Umm...what happened?" came a voice behind Yuu. He turned around to see Mami standing there. "Is...he okay?"

"I don't think he is..." Yuu replied as Kenichi lifted one shaking hand into the air..

"I see...why are your doubled over like that? As well as every other boy in class?"

Yuu blinked as he looked down on himself. He was leaning forward with both hands pressed against his waist and his knees were slightly bent.

Looking around he noted that every other boy was in a similar position.

"Empathy Pain," he replied. "Or was it Sympathy Pain? I forget which. Does it matter?"

"I...see..." Mami said as she looked down at Kenichi, not really understanding at all.

"Just leave them alone," Kyouko said.

"WHY IS NO ONE HELPING ME?" Kenichi cried as the bell rang. "Ah...farewell cruel...world..."

* * *

Kyouko's bad mood lasted the entire day and she didn't even bug Yuu during lunchtime and instead simply disappeared once the bell rang and didn't come back until a minute before the lunch break ended. Once school was over, she was also the first one out the room.

"Well that didn't work out as well as I hoped," Kenichi sighed as he placed his ice pack on Yuu's desk. "Ugh...it still hurts. She is pure evil."

"Why did you bring it up?" Yuu asked.

"To give her a quick and easy outlet before she blew up in the middle of class. In hindsight it was possibly the worst decision of my life but at least she didn't hit anyone else. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to hobble over to the nurse's office. Ouch...ouch..."

"So it really does hurt?" Mami asked and Yuu nodded. "Should we...help him?"

"Let's just...leave him alone..." Yuu replied as he grabbed his bag and stood up to head home as well. "Be sure to check out the Midnight Channel again."

"Right."

* * *

Two minutes before midnight and the rain was still pouring as Yuu looked out of his window.

"Will it really show up again?" he wondered as he closed the curtain and sat down in front of his TV.

The only sounds in his room were the ticking of the clock and the beating of the raindrops against his window and the occasional clap of thunder. And then...something appeared.

The TV screen fizzled to life as a very familiar girl appeared on the screen.

"_**Hello everybody!**_" the girl shouted. "_**Are you prepared for the great Kyouko's Sinful Search of the Sins from the Soul?**_"

"Eh...?"

* * *

Chapter's End Corner

**Harouki**: So it's been a month and the lull has ended! Next time we begin the Investigation into this new Shadow Dungeon!

**Sayaka**: What the hell, I barely showed up again! And why does _SHE_ get the spotlight?

**Harouki**: Because this is as much her story as it is Yuu's! This chapter was ANNOYINGLY slow going, but it's finally done and hopefully I can focus on speeding up the plot a bit...god an entire year in one fic is brutal...especially when you're keeping track of dates. In happier news, I got a new avatar! I freaking love Einhalt~


	7. Chapter 7: Her Sinful Truth

**Chapter 7: Her Sinful Truth**

* * *

**Tuesday, April 28th: Raining**

"_**That's right! Here we will divulge in the seven sins that plague mankind!**_" the obviously not-Kyouko said as she spun around on her feet turning her back toward the camera and spreading her arms out to the building behind her which looked like an exact copy of the church Yuu saw on the report. "_**What are these sins you ask? Well, keep watching and maybe you'll find out! Catch ya later!**_"

And with that, the image died as quickly as it appeared.

"What was...that just now?" Yuu asked to no one in particular.

He had expected it to be a vague foggy image like it had been with Mami (and maybe himself), not a full blown...whatever it was he just watched.

Seconds later, his door burst opened.

"Y-Yuu-kun!" Madoka half shouted half whispered if such a thing was possible. "What was that just now? Was that the nun on the news report the other day? She's your classmate right?"

"Madoka, breathe," Yuu said quickly as Madoka quickly took a few deep breaths. "In order: 'I don't know' to the first, and 'Yes' to the second two...kind of."

"Oh right, it must be her Shadow."

Just then, Yuu's phone started to ring on his desk, causing the two cousins to look over to it before Yuu walked over and checked the Caller ID.

"Tomoe?" he asked as he answered the call on speakerphone. "Yes?"

"_Narukami-san!_" came Mami's panicked voice. "_I wasn't really like that was I?_"

"Huh?"

"_I didn't really look like I was on some cheap reality show did I?_"

"Calm down. You didn't."

"_Oh...that's good..._" Mami sighed. "_But...why did Sakura-san appear like that? When I saw myself on it, I only saw static and I was barely visible..._"

"I...don't know," Yuu replied.

"Maybe we should ask, Kyubey?" Madoka suggested as she pointed toward the TV. "That girl might already be in there."

"Good idea," Yuu nodded as he handed Madoka his phone, grabbed his glasses off his desk and held it up to the TV before poking his head through it for a second before pulling his head back. "He's not there. He must have gone somewhere."

"_Well...it is pretty late..._" Mami said.

"Come to think of it...he wasn't there when we came through the first time..." Yuu said as he turned to Madoka. "Remember? Even though we arrived at the same spot we do when we use the glasses."

"Now that you mention it..." Madoka nodded as she placed her free hand on her chin in thought. "Then he's probably asleep?"

"Yeah. So we should check again later to-oh..."

"Is something the matter?"

"I promised someone I would meet them today..."

"_Really?_" Mami asked. "_Then why not call them and reschedule?_"

"They didn't have a cellphone so we promised to meet at the same place..."

"Then we'll just have to save your classmate before the time you have to meet," Madoka said. "We saved Tomoe-san quickly enough."

"I hope so..." Yuu muttered.

* * *

As was expected, Kyouko did not show up to class that morning and Kenichi looked worried the entire day, even disappearing during lunchtime to apparently look for her around the school.

Once school ended, he disappeared from the classroom without another word.

"He must be worried about Sakura-san," Mami said as she and Yuu stood up.

"Let's go," Yuu said as he ushered Mami out of the classroom as well.

"Where are we going?"

"The old Video Club's room. We used their TV to get to you before."

"I see," Mami nodded. "It would be faster than going home to use the TV."

They waited for a moment at the stairs to let Madoka catch up to them after bidding her friends goodbye before running up to the clubroom floor and enter the clubroom.

"This place is really dusty, isn't it?" Mami asked.

"I don't think anyone's really used it in the last three years," Madoka admitted as Yuu went straight toward the TV.

"Let's go," Yuu said as he pulled out his glasses and held it in front of the TV, activating the entrance and crossing through.

"So you all have returned," Kyubey said as it looked at them.

"Someone else has appeared, correct?" Yuu asked as the girls came up behind him.

"Indeed they have. Interesting. How is it that you realize that someone has been thrown in?"

"There is something called the Midnight Channel," Madoka said. "Apparently when someone is thrown in, they appear on that show."

"How interesting...I will have to look into this in the future. For now, shall we head to the new area that has appeared?"

* * *

"This is a church, isn't it?" Madoka asked as the four of them stood in front of the dungeon where Sakura Kyouko was probably trapped by her Shadow.

"If I recall correctly, this would be the Sakura Church they showed in the news, wouldn't it?" Mami asked. "It must be important to her."

"Let's go," Yuu said as he glanced at his watch before running toward the doors and threw them open.

The interior was extremely dark with only a few candles lighting a long endless corridor

"This place is...dark..." Mami whispered as they walked down the corridor, taking in the darkness as more candles continued to light their path. "It feels like it's leading us somewhere..."

"It feels like something could just jump out at us..." Madoka said as she grabbed the back of Yuu's shirt.

"For now, there doesn't seem to be anything hiding in the darkness," Kyubey said as it scanned the area. "Perhaps they have not noticed us...wait, there is something ahead!"

At Kyubey's words, a ring of candles lit up in a little bit down the path and a figure could be seen praying in the center of it.

"_Welcome, lost little lambs!_" "Kyouko" said without looking at them. "_Are you here for today's sermon? Or perhaps...you are here for something else?_"

"Persona!" Yuu shouted immediately as he crushed a card in his hands.

Izanagi appeared from the pillar of blue flames behind him and immediately rushed toward "Kyouko," only for the candles between her and the Persona, cutting it off from her.

"_Now now,_" she said as she stood up and tilted her head toward them. "_You must remain silent and seated during prayers_."

"Sorry, but I don't know the proper etiquette for churches," Yuu replied as Izanagi drew back, causing the flames to rescind as well.

_"Ah...we have a lost sheep in our midst,"_ the Shadow said as she placed her hands over her chest and stared up into the abyss. "_And you have come to my church seeking answers? Very well. Let us begin your journey into the seven sins of Sakura Kyouko!__"_

At that several of the candles' flames rose into the air and started stretching out into words.

"Sakura Kyouko's Trials of the Seven Sins?" Mami read in disbelief. "Please tell me mine wasn't like that as well."

"Yours wasn't like that as well?" Madoka offered.

"Can you tell me and actually _mean_ it?"

"But then that would be lying. Which is bad. Lying that is."

"_Now then! Let's begin the trials!_" the Shadow shouted, not paying any attention to the two girls as Mami slumped over in embarrassment.

The flames rose up, blocking the Shadow from view from a moment before subsiding and clearing the way for trio.

"It's gone," Kyubey said simply as they walked up to the place where the Shadow disappeared. "Another unique one has showed up this time."

"I wonder if they all are going to be this strange..." Madoka said, holding a hand to her chin. "Yuu-kun didn't have one and mine just appeared in front of me without doing anything weird."

"So why did I..." Mami began only for the candles behind them to suddenly vanish and for another path to light up with a large wooden door at the end of it. The door had a large sign with four strange runes on it.

"What is that?" Yuu asked. "I don't recognize the language."

"I don't either," Mami said as she squinted over at the sign. "Shall we move a bit closer?"

The cousins nodded as Yuu led the way forward to the door and pushed it open.

The room was dark and empty as the trio slowly crept inside.

Before anyone could comment on it however, the candles began to light up, creating another ring around the group.

"_Welcome to the first trial,_" Kyouko's Shadow said as she reappeared on the far end of the room. "_Although it is but the first, it is just as important as the others. The Sin of Lust._"

"Lust?" Mami asked as the Shadow nodded.

"_Indeed. As a girl in puberty, my thoughts have occasionally wandered into the dark path. You must free me from this. You must destroy the thoughts that occupy my mind._"

"What does she mean by..." Madoka began as a pillar of fire erupted in the center of room, forcing them to shield themselves from the heat. "What was...eep!"

"Kyaaah!"

"Bwah?"

Standing in the midst of the fire was Yuu...or at least a statue of himself. The problem was that he was dressed in only his underwear with Kenichi standing beside him, similarly dressed.

Feeling extremely uncomfortable, Yuu spun around to his his female companions to see that they had quickly covered their eyes with their hands but he saw Madoka's fingers twitching as if the girl was fighting an impulse to peek through them.

At least Mami wasn't fighting the impulse. Nope, she was already peeking through the gaps in her fingers as her face turned extremely red.

Not wanting to waste more time on this, Yuu had Izanagi rush toward the statue and destroy it with a single swing of his blade.

He briefly considered blasting the remains with lightning but the flames rose up again, burning the remains to ash.

"_That was simple now, wasn't it?_" the Shadow asked as the ashes started to move. "_But I suppose it's never that simple. Do try to make it to the other room in one piece, would you?_"

As Kyouko's Shadow disappeared, a much larger Shadow rose out from the ashes of the statue, revealing itself to be a large gray worm shaped creature with a pair of strange collars around its body, shaped like the male symbol with a female symbol hanging off the end of the male symbol.

"Why are the symbols like that?" Madoka asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"I...don't think you need to worry about that, Kaname-san," Mami said as she coughed into her hand.

"Girls...help?" Yuu asked as the Shadow lunged at Izanagi, who jumped over it to dodge it.

"Oh right! Persona!"

The Magician and Empress Arcana cards shattered and Inahime and Kichijoten sprang forth from the blue flames.

Inahime stayed back and nocked an arrow of pink light on its bowstring and pulled it back as Kichijoten closed the distance between it and the Shadow, shooting its rifle at the base of the Shadow to draw its attention and allow Izanagi to return to Yuu.

It succeeded as the Shadow turned its attention to the Yellow Persona instead.

"Persona!" Yuu shouted once Izanagi was by his side again. The Persona changed back into the Fool Arcana before spinning around and changing into the Empress Arcana and shattering, allowing Gabriel to bust out and bat the worm away from Kichijoten with its blade.

The worm squirmed on the ground for a moment before righting itself upright and began exhuming a green gas from its body.

"Oh dear..." Mami groaned as the three of them covered their faces. "Please tell me that it did not just do what I think it just did?"

"It appears to have stagnated the air in this area," Kyubey noted as it looked around. "Be careful."

No sooner had Kyubey said it than a purple mist began pouring out of its front.

Yuu's body suddenly began to feel very heavy as bile rose up in his throat and his eyes began to water.

"This is bad!" Kyubey shouted as Madoka fell to her knees and started hacking at the ground while Mami clutched her stomach and covered her mouth as she broke out in violent coughs. "This is a Poison Mist. Hurry and defeat it!"

"A-Amrita!" Mami managed to choke out in between coughs.

Kichijoten raised a rifle into the air and fired a single shot. A faint light washed around them and Yuu's body felt better immediately but the Poison Mist around them still hadn't dissipated, causing the poison to slowly seep back in.

"Persona!" he shouted as he held his hand out toward Gabriel, who reverted back into its Arcana form. " Jack Frost!"

Another burst of blue flame erupted from the cards as the little jester snowman flew toward the Shadow, cackling with glee.

"Bufula!"

Another cackle came from Jack Frost as it extended both hands towards the Shadow, encasing it in a giant block of ice.

"Persona! Izanagi!"

Jack Frost vanished and was replaced by Yuu's first Persona, Izanagi.

"Cleave!"

Taking advantage of the Shadow's frozen state, Izanagi rushed forward with its blade brandished. With a flash of its blade it slashed at the Shadow, reappearing behind it for a moment before swinging its blade to the side.

Then it turned around and gave the ice block a little push, causing the top half of the Shadow to slide off from the rest of the block and crash into a thousand pieces onto the floor.

With the destruction of the Shadow, the Poison Mist began to slowly dissipate and Yuu felt himself able to breathe easily again as he slumped backward and fell on his butt in exhaustion.

This was only the first room and he already felt tired.

And if the first room was this dangerous, how much danger was Kyouko in if she was, probably, in the final room?

"Are you well enough to keep continuing?" Kyubey asked.

"Whether we are well or not, we have to keep moving," Mami said with one last small cough. "The longer Sakura-san is in here the more dangerous it would be for her, correct?"

"Correct. Then you will be going through the next door then?"

"Next door?" Madoka asked as she looked toward the direction Kyubey was looking at and gasped at the door that was certainly not there while the Snake Shadow was still alive.

This time there were five runes above it. The third and fourth rune seemed to be identical to each other but the other three Yuu couldn't really make out.

"Let's go," Yuu said as he pushed himself to his feet and walked back to help Madoka to her feet. "Are you up for it, Madoka?"

"Y-yeah..." Madoka slowly nodded as she took Yuu's outstretched hand. "I think I'm okay."

This next room was similar to the Room of Lust. Completely empty except for Kyouko's Shadow praying in the center.

"_Welcome, to the second trial,_" the Shadow said as she stood up, with her hands still together. "_This one shall be a bit more difficult, so please, do not stray from the path. The Sin of Greed._"

"I suppose money will be involved..." Mami muttered as the door behind them vanished.

"_Indeed. To pass this trial...you must remove all the gold in this room."_

"Gold?" Madoka repeated as the Shadow vanished. "What gold?"

"Uh...Madoka?" Yuu began as he tapped his cousin's shoulder, causing her to look at him.

He pointed up and the girls plus Kyubey followed his gaze.

Up above them were dozens of golden hands of skittering around the ceiling like giant spiders.

"My...I certainly did not expect those to be here," Kyubey said simply as the other three took a step back at the sight.

"What..._are_ they?" Mami asked.

"Classification: Wealth Hand," Kyubey replied. "For some reason, they carry a vast amount of energy but no power whatsoever. They tend to flee once they are seen. Perhaps its because they are so far above us that they aren't fleeing at the moment. Each Wealth Hand is worth three thousand yen due to the fact that they..."

But Kyubey was unable to finish as Madoka and Mami immediately ran toward the center of the room, causing Kyubey to fall off of Madoka's shoulder. Luckily Yuu caught him before he hit the ground.

The two girls immediately had their Persona fire upon the golden hands, knocking several of them off the ceiling and onto the floor where they began scurrying around like cockroaches.

"What were you about to say?" Yuu asked as the girls' persona chased after the Hands, and shoot at them, only to see that their attacks were barely doing any damage.

"These sub-sect of Hands are one of the more...denser shadows," Kyubey continued, resting itself around Yuu's shoulders. "They have little to no offensive abilities and instead, harden their skin to diamond-like levels. More often than not they are only weak to one type of attack. Some however, are completely immune to all attacks and can only be damaged by removing their resistance."

"And these Wealth Hands?"

"You'll have to try and see what works. Physical attacks seem to hurt them so far, but not much."

Yuu nodded and stuck his hand toward one of the closer Hands.

"Gabriel!" he shouted and the Persona obeyed.

The Persona spun its blade in its hand before thrusting it toward the Wealth Hand.

A large block of ice erupted from the floor, encasing the hand in it before shattering. However, the Hand was still there, if only moving just a little bit slower from the cold.

"Ice is out..." Yuu commentated as Mami waved toward another Wealth Hand.

"Kichijoten!" she shouted.

The Persona tapped its rifle on the ground before dragging it like flint on stone around causing a ball of fire to form in its barrel. With a pull of the trigger, the fireball vanished, and a column of fire erupted beneath the Hand. The Hand jumped in surprised but didn't seem to receive any lasting damage.

"Fire doesn't work either?" Madoka gasped.

"Then how about lightning?" Mami asked as Kichijoten spun its rifle around its arm, causing sparks to appear within the barrel. "Zio!"

A storm cloud appeared and yellow lightning bolt crashed down on the hand, causing it to erupt in a cloud of black mist.

Mami stared as if she honestly did not expect her attack to work before a smile appeared on her face.

"Mazio!" she called out as Kichijoten spun the rifle above her head like a baton, creating what looked like a spinning disc of electricity before pulling the trigger once more.

Thunder clouds appeared all over the room as yellow lightning bolts struck down the Wealth Hands one by one before there were none left.

"That was amazing, Tomoe-san!" Madoka said as she and Inahime clapped their hands.

"Fufufu, what a wonderful payout," Mami said as she placed a hand on her cheek.

"Uh...Tomoe?" Yuu said as he tapped his classmate on the shoulder, causing her to look at him. He then pointed at a large box with strange characters that stood in front of the newly created door.

A donation box.

"It reads, 'Please donate all proceeds to proceed,'" Kyubey supplied helpfully.

"By proceeds...do they mean..." Mami trailed off, indicating toward the remains of the Shadows.

"Most likely. What an interesting key."

"I...don't suppose you can also give us the payment afterward?"

"The contract only allows me to pay you once per shadow you destroy. I cannot open this door and pay you afterwards as it would be the equivalent of paying you twice."

"I thought so..." Mami said as she bit back a sob as a large stack of bills appeared in Yuu's hand and tossed it into the box, allowing the door to open. "Do I even want to know how much was lost?"

"It was about three h-"

"No! Stop! I don't want to know!"

"I hope the next rooms won't be as difficult..." Madoka said. "Lust and Greed...do you think there are five more rooms? As in the Seven Sins thingy?"

"Probably..." Yuu replied, checking his cellphone. It was already four. He didn't remember when visiting hours ended, but it was still best to hurry. To both save Kyouko and make the appointment of course. Both were important. "Let's go."

And they continued on into the next room that had eight symbols on it.

* * *

"Where the crap am I?"

Kyouko squinted into the fog as she tried to get some sort of idea where she was.

"What is up with this stupid fog?" she wondered as she stood up and brushed herself off. "I can't see a freaking thing..."

First those stupid reporters had to come by the church, saying that it was decrepit and falling apart, how her father was ignoring the doctrine cost the church their followers.

It wasn't as if he was saying anything wrong. A new era needed new beliefs after all.

Then there were the students sticking their nose in her business where it didn't belong. Asking her about the church and what it was like being on TV. Why couldn't they just butt out?

Though kicking Kenichi was probably a bit much.

Kyouko quickly shook her and smacked her cheeks. There was no point in wasting time thinking about useless things like this. She needed to find a way to get out of here.

"Guess I better start walking then..."

She took one step forward and her path was immediately blocked by as candles appeared at her feet.

"What the?" she gasped as she quickly backed away and the candles erupted in a pillar of fire, patting her foot. "What's going on?"

But when she took a few more steps back, the flames died down.

"I guess I'm not going that way..." she muttered as she turned the other way and took a careful step forward. When it looked like no more candles were going to pop up she took another. Then another. "Okay...looks safe..."

Rubbing her arms for warmth, she headed down the foggy pathway until she came across a wall and looked up it, only to see that it wasn't a wall at all.

It was a giant stained glass window depicting what appeared to be a naked woman covered in roses.

"Ugh..." Kyouko groaned as she made a face. "Can't say much for the tastes of whoever owned this place. At least the roses are covering the...the uh...private bits."

For some reason, she found it difficult to tear her eyes away from the glass. Putting aside what it was depicting, it was a very beautiful piece of work.

But as she reached her hand out to touch it, the glass seemed to crack even further. Sensing danger, she quickly backed up. Not a moment too soon, as the glass shattered, raining its shards down on the ground as Kyouko dived away.

"What was that?" she shouted as she looked at the now empty window, only to see that there was an opening behind it and something shining in the distance. "Okay, this totally smells like a set up..."

As she said that, another set of candles appeared behind her, singeing her hair as the fire shot up into the air again.

"Okay!" Kyouko shrieked as she patted down the flames. "I get it! I get it! Geez...where is this freaky place anyway?"

Kyouko carefully avoided the shattered glass as she climbed through the shattered window plane and walked toward the light on the other side as candles were locking her in a straight path.

When she got there, she saw it was another large stained glass window, one depicting a large mountain of gold coins.

"Okay...? Why does this seem...is this Greed?" she wondered as she turned to look behind her. "Then...maybe that last one was Lust? Why are there windows depicting the Seven Sins? Wait...this isn't some trial from God is it?"

But no matter how long she looked around, all she saw was darkness lit up by a trail of candles. If it was some trial, then it was pretty empty.

Staring at the glass, she couldn't help but wonder what she could do if she had all that money. Maybe be able to fix up their church.

Moments later, the Greed window cracked and Kyouko jumped back as it shattered like the Lust one.

"Maybe...someone else is taking the trials and I'm to be a witness? But why someone like me instead of my dad?"

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she continued pass the glass, coming across a stained glass window depicting a grand feast with a bloated person behind it all.

"Yeah...no question what this one is..." Kyouko muttered as she made a face. "Gluttony. But...that food does look good. I can almost smell it."

Realizing what she was doing, Kyouko quickly slapped her cheeks and shook her head.

"No pay attention. I got to keep moving."

Never mind that she hasn't eaten yet...

If only they had a little more money she wouldn't have to bother Kenichi or Yuu all the time.

Asking the other girl, Mami was it? Asking Mami would make her feel worse since that girl seemed to be making her own food to bring and if she asked, the girl might end up making food for her everyday and won't stop even if Kyouko asked her.

Behind the Gluttony Glass was the Glass of Sloth. On it, it depicted someone sleeping in a large bed as large flames were slowly closing in on them.

"Someone so lazy they won't even save themselves as the world burns around them?" Kyouko thought.

She couldn't help but think of all the times she slept in class and had to bug Kenichi for notes. It couldn't be helped though...right? She had to save her strength due to lack of food...right...? And it wasn't like she slept all the time. She stayed awake for tests at the very least and did good enough...

After Sloth was Wrath, depicted as a roaring demon bathed in red flames and Kyouko didn't have to think too hard on that one.

She rubbed her arm ashamedly as she recalled how she blew her top at the reporters and kicked Kenichi just because she was in a bad mood. Her temper problems were real problems after all.

"I should probably apologize when I get back...or at least pay him what I owe..." she mumbled.

The next glass was that of envy, depicting dozens of bloodied green hands grasping out to the sky, reaching towards the sun while clawing at the others. Perhaps it was symbolizing people reaching out for something unattainable at the cost of others.

She didn't know about the "cost of others" part, but she did feel that it was unfair that she had to barely scrape by when other students bought expensive foods and not finish it or useless junk that you didn't need to survive just because they had the money to buy it.

"Maybe...this isn't observing a trial..." Kyouko mumbled as the glass shattered in front of her. "Maybe it's a trial of self reflection? Cause I seem to be doing that right now..."

Even if she didn't "lust" in the traditional sense, she desired a lot of things she didn't have such as money, food, a house that wasn't run down...

The last stained glass window, the Pride Glass.

It was depicted by a person in black with angel wings on their back.

"_Did you enjoy your trial, young sinner?_"

Kyouko blinked.

The glass suddenly shifted and vanished, revealing a figure wearing a habit standing in its place looking at her with a sneer on her face.

Herself.

"Wha-" she gasped.

"_Ahh...how painful it is,_" the doppelganger began as she folded her hands in prayer in front of her. "_Despite my duty to God I am nothing but a sinner. I desire everything that I can't have and am enraged at those who have what I cannot attain. My sins spread out so far and wide that even my best friend can't deal with me anymore. Oh, the Holy Father and Father must be absolutely ashamed of this one._"

"W-wha...w-what the..." Kyouko stuttered as she shook her head. No expletives that came to her mind could properly describe the situation she was in right now. "Who...you...what are you supposed to be?"

"_Me?_" the doppelganger asked as she looked up from her prayer. "_I am a Sinner. Nothing but a sinner. After all...I am you._"

"Huh?"

* * *

"No...no more..." Madoka cried as she fell forward on all fours with tears in her eyes.

Mami was also sitting on the ground trying to catch her breath while Yuu was barely standing with his hands on his knees.

"First it was a room full of cakes that tried to eat us..." Mami recounted with a shiver, making Yuu wonder if she would never be able to eat cakes again or if she wanted nothing more to eat them in revenge. "Then it was a bed that strapped us to it while setting itself on fire..."

"Then it was a a bunch black knight shadows chasing us..." Yuu recalled. "And then a room with a bunch of stone arms wielding swords..."

"Indeed," Kyubey nodded as it looked up at Madoka's sweating face. "The three of you did your jobs well in exterminating the Shadows. Your total is around fifty thousand now."

"And we still have one room to go..." Madoka cried. "I can't take this place anymore! It's completely different than Tomoe-san's!"

"Please don't remind me of that place..." Mami muttered softly.

"One more room..." Yuu muttered as he stood up straight. "Pride, is it?"

"That's what the runes say," Kyubey nodded as they made their way through the doors just in time to see a Kyouko in a school uniform backing away from the Shadow Kyouko in a nun's habit.

"S-shut up!" Kyouko shouted. "Stop calling me that!"

"_Why?_" the Shadow asked. "_It is what I am after all. An irredeemable being of darkness that even God himself would shun at the mere sight. We are the same._"

"Shut up!"

"Sakura!" Yuu shouted as he and the girls quickly ran up to her. "Don't say it!"

"You're not me!" Kyouko screamed out as she clasped her hands over her head and shook it furiously.

"_That's right!_" the Shadow laughed as it began to absorb the black shadows from the room, the habit falling off as its hair began rising like a red flame. "_**I'm my own self now!**_"

The shadows wrapped around the Shadow like a cocoon before it burst open revealing a much larger Shadow. It was wearing a long red kimono while riding on top of a black and white checkered horse wielding a double bladed spear in its hands. It also had a large flame for a head as if its neck was a candle wick.

"Sakura-san!" Mami shouted as she and Madoka ran over to the unconscious girl while Yuu ran between them. "Get a hold of yourself, Sakura-san!"

"_**I am a Shadow, the true Self!**_" the new Shadow declared. "_**Let us send these sinners to God!**_"

"That is not for you to decide! Persona!" Yuu shouted as he crushed the Arcana Card in his hands, allowing Izanagi to appear behind him and charge toward the Shadow. "Cleave!"

Izanagi's weapon began to shine as it swung at the Shadow, cleaving it in two.

"Huh?" Yuu blinked, shocked at how easy that was for a moment before the two halves disappeared in a puff of smoke. Then two pillars of smoke rose up from the ground, revealing identical versions of Kyouko's Shadow. "Two of them?"

"_**Behold, God's Wrath!**_" the Shadows roared as their flame heads started growing in size. "_**Begone!**_"

"This is bad! Persona! Gabriel!"

Izanagi reverted to an Arcana card before the card shattered and Gabriel took its place.

The Persona quickly flew over and grabbed Yuu in its arms before moving over to where the girls were and shielded them with its wings as fire began raining down around them.

"Yuu-kun!" Madoka shouted over the flames as Yuu let out a grunt of pain as the flames bore down on his Persona.

"I'm fine...!" he managed to say as the flames finally stopped. "How's Sakura?"

"She's just lost consciousness," Mami replied. "Like what happened to me..."

"Me too..." Madoka muttered. "I guess that's what happens when a Shadow goes berserk?"

Gabriel stood up straight, flapping its singed wings to remove any lingering flames as Mami and Madoka stood up as well.

""Persona!""

"Persona! Izanagi!"

Izanagi took Gabriel's place as Inahime and Kichijoten appeared behind the girls.

"""Synchro!"""

The three of them Synchronized with their Persona before Yuu rushed toward the Shadow again with Mami right behind him and Madoka taking up the rear and keeping guard over Kyouko.

"But what do we do?" Mami asked as they stared down the two giant Shadows. "Can we really fight both of them?"

"One of them is a fake!" Kyubey shouted from behind Madoka's legs. "I am unable to tell which one exactly, but one of them is not real. That is not to say it can't hurt you however as the fire showed."

"Then we just need to keep hitting them then!" Madoka said as she created an arrow in her hand and nocked it. She took aim at one of the Shadows and let the arrow fly.

The arrow sailed through the fog and hit one of the shadows, sending it flying off its mount and vanishing into smoke.

"That one?" Mami asked as she fired at the remaining one, only for it to vanish before her shot could even get close to hitting it. Seconds later, three Shadows appeared in front of them. "Oh dear..."

"It seems like the Shadow will create more and more illusions unless you hit the right one with the first attack!" Kyubey observed.

"Then...what if we attack all of them at once?" Mami asked.

"Perhaps that would...look out!"

"Eh?"

Mami turned around at Kyubey's warning just in time to see the Shadow looming over her with its weapon raised.

"Tomoe-san, run away!" Madoka screamed but Mami's legs were frozen like a deer in headlights.

CLANG!

A loud clang reached her ears as she shut her eyes in fear before slowly opening them to see a black coat blowing in front of her.

Yuu was hovering just above her with the side of his blade blocking the edge of the Shadow's.

"N-Narukami-san!"

"Kuh...graaaaaah!" Yuu shouted as he attempted to push the Shadow back but it was slowly pushing him downward with its weight. "Shoot it, Tomoe!"

"Eh? Ahh...right!" Mami nodded as she took aim at the Shadow and fired. "Zio!"

A bolt of yellow lighting shot down from the sky into the Shadow, causing it to shriek in pain and leap away from Yuu who landed down on the ground in front of Mami, using his weapon as a cructh.

"Narukami-san, are you okay?" Mami asked quickly as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ah...! You're bleeding!"

"Just a scratch..." Yuu said as he stood back up and turned toward Kyubey. "How was the damage?"

"So-so," Kyubey replied. "You seem to have hit the correct one but lightning attacks do not seem particularly effective but it's not ineffective."

"Is that right..." Yuu muttered. "If it's fire...Jack Frost!"

As he crushed the Magician Arcana in his hands, Jack Frost burst out of the blue flames and fired several shards of ice at the Shadow he knocked back blowing its steed off its feet and causing it to collapse onto the ground.

"It worked!" Madoka cheered.

"Hold on a moment, Narukami-san," Mami said as she held out her hand to him and fired her musket into the air. "Dia!"

An orb of light surrounded Yuu for a moment before vanishing and he felt the pain in his arm slowly fade away.

"Thank you, Tomoe," Yuu nodded as he spun his weapon around.

"Quickly, attack it before it gets back up!" Kyubey shouted.

The Persona users nodded as Mami and Madoka began firing their weapons at the collapsed Shadow while Yuu stayed back and shot Zio spells at it rather than risk getting hit by friendly fire.

"_**GAH!**_" the Shadow screamed as it climbed back onto its mount and slammed its spear into the ground. "_**Pretentious sinners! Behold God's Miracles!**_"

Yuu barely registered a flash of red before he felt something smash into his right arm, sending him spinning around into the air before he landed with a dull thud on the ground. Judging from the feminine scream that did _not_ come from his mouth, he assumed Mami got hit as well.

"Tomoe-san! Yuu-kun!" Madoka shouted as she took a step toward him.

"Stop!" Yuu shouted, causing her to freeze in place. "Keep guard over Sakura!"

"B-but you two are...!"

"It's coming around!" Kyubey shouted as the Shadow turned around and began flashing red again.

Yuu jumped to his feet and stood between it and Mami with his blade held up.

A loud clang reached his ears as he was thrown up into the air again, slamming into an unseen wall before crashing to the ground.

"Too fast..." he growled as he pushed himself up. "I need something to move faster..."

If only he brought some of that coffee with him.

"Narukami Yuu!" Kyubey shouted as the Shadow charged at him again.

"_Is this it?_" he thought helplessly when all of a sudden he felt something beat in his heart.

For some reason, the Velvet Room appeared in his mind's eye with Margaret opening up her book to show the picture of The Jester Arcana.

As it did, he saw the Arcana fall in front of him.

Without really thinking about he reached out toward it and crushed it in his hands.

"Persona! Pale Rider!"

A sharp clang rang out just above his head as the Shadow's spear was stopped by a large scythe.

Holding the scythe was a large robed figure riding on top of a steed with skeletal hands and a skull for a face. It was like looking at Death personified.

"_**Death?**_" the Shadow gasped. "_**You truly are a Sinner to associate yourself with such a foul creature! Disappear!**_"

The Shadow pulled back and swung its spear at the Persona, only for it to spin its scythe around, knocking the spear downward before countering by thrusting the scythe forward and into the Shadow's chest knocking it away from Yuu.

"Pale Rider..." Yuu breathed as he stood up and the Persona looked down at him.

"Another...one?" Mami gasped.

"Four...four different Personas?" Madoka asked.

"Interesting...you truly are interesting, Narukami Yuu," Kyubey mumbled as Persona stuck its hand out toward Yuu who nodded.

"Synchro! Pale Rider!" he shouted and clasped the Persona's hand.

Blue flames enveloped the two of them as Izanagi reappeared behind Yuu who was now draped in the Pale Rider's robes, scythe in hand and riding on top of its mount, which had shrunk to accommodate his smaller stature. The Persona's skull like head was now over Yuu's face like another mask.

"Let's go!" Yuu shouted as the steed reared up on its hind legs before charging at the Shadow.

The Shadow let out another roar as fireballs began forming around it. The flames held for a moment before flinging themselves at Yuu.

Yuu skillfully weaved between the flames, occasionally swiping one out of the air with his scythe as he quickly closed the distance between himself and the Shadow.

When he got close enough, he made the steed jump towards the Shadow taking a swing at its arm but the Shadow easily parried it with its spear, knocking him aside but Yuu didn't stop there. He took a swing at the Shadow's own mount, severing its legs before making his steed jump into the air, avoiding a counterattack from the Shadow, landing on the edge of the Shadow's spear.

The Shadow let out a roar of annoyance as it swiped at him with its arm only for the steed to jump over it and kick its hind legs into the Shadow's chest, launching itself and Yuu forward while knocking the Shadow off its mount once more.

The steed slid across the ground for a moment before turning around to face the Shadow again.

"Time for the finish," Yuu said as Izanagi rushed toward the Shadows back while Yuu attacked it from the front. "_DEAD END!_"

Yuu and Izanagi struck the Shadow at the same time. Yuu slashing it horizontally while Izanagi slashed it straight down the middle.

"_**Is...this...God's Will?**_" the Shadow asked as it erupted in flames, leaving behind its original form of Kyouko in a nun's habit to fall to the ground.

"Whew..." Yuu sighed as he rode over to the girls and dismissed his Persona just in time for Kyouko to stir and slowly sit up.

"W-what...where am I?" the girl asked as she looked around.

"Are you okay, Sakura-san?" Mami asked causing the red head to look at her.

"You're...Tomoe Mami?" Kyouko asked and Mami nodded. "Narukami Yuu and...who are you?" she added as she looked at Madoka.

"I'm Kaname Madoka, Yuu-kun's cousin," Madoka replied.

"Is that right?"

Her eyes then turned toward the Shadow, which was just looking at them silently.

"What's the matter?" Kyouko asked. "Nothing left to say?"

"Sakura-san..." Mami began.

"I know..." Kyouko muttered. "I know what that...thing was saying was true. I'm a shitty nun that can't do anything right. I just cause trouble for everyone else...I know that. But...really...it freaking hurts when someone just says it to your face...especially when you're the one saying it to yourself..."

"It's okay, Sakura" Yuu said kindly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "No one is perfect."

"That's right," Madoka said. "And...it's okay to cause trouble for your friends sometimes. They'll still be there for you."

"She's right," Mami agreed. "Katou-san was worried that you didn't show up and immediately went out to look for you after school ended."

"School?" Kyouko repeated as she raised a hand to her face. "Oh man...how long was I in here?"

With Yuu and Mami's help, Kyouko managed to get to her feet and limp over to the Shadow.

"I don't know if I'll be able to change..." she muttered as she looked at her Shadow. "But...I do know I won't be able to move pass this if I just pretend you don't exist...you're me...and I'm you...darn it!"

The Shadow gave Kyouko a kind smile and nodded its head as it was bathed in a blue light, turning into a Persona. It was tall and humanoid with a set of red samurai armor around it. On its face was a mask depicting a red cross with a set of red glowing eyes behind it. It was also wielding a pair of cross spears, one in each hand.

The Persona gave Kyouko one final nod before it disappeared, transforming into a card depicting a woman standing beside a lion and floated down into her chest.

Kyouko's strength to face herself has been made manifest, allowing her to obtain the façade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Kaihime.

"Haha...that's pretty...sweet..." Kyouko mumbled before she fell over face first onto the ground.

"Sakura-san?" Mami shouted as they quickly rushed over to her side. "Sakura-san, hang in there! We'll get you to the-"

A loud gurgling noise interrupted Mami's words as they stared down at Kyouko, whose face was even redder than her hair.

"Get you some food?" Yuu offered.

"Please..." Kyouko begged. "I'm dying here..."

"You humans really are so interesting," Kyubey said idly as he opened up the exit for them while Yuu and Mami draped Kyouko's arms around their necks and helped her out with Madoka following right behind them after taking the payment from Kyubey.

* * *

"I'll take Sakura-san to the infirmary to get some rest," Mami said as she took Kyouko's arm off of Yuu. "Don't you have an appointment to get to, Narukami-san?"

"You sure it's okay?" Yuu asked.

"Don't worry," Madoka nodded. "I'll be here to help Sakura-san as well."

"Don't...call me...Sakura-san..." Kyouko breathed out. "Makes me feel old...when someone younger calls me that..."

"Then...is Kyouko-chan fine?"

"Whatever..."

"Then...I'll leave it to you," Yuu said as he quickly grabbed his bag from the table and ran out of the room first.

When he got down to the first floor, he spotted Kenichi sitting at the shoe lockers, looking dejected.

"Katou?" Yuu called out.

"Oh...Narukami..." Kenichi muttered. "You're still here?"

"I was just leaving. Why are you still here?"

"I was...looking for Kyouko," Kenichi replied. "Cause her parents asked me to you know?"

"Tomoe was just bringing Sakura to the infirmary," Yuu said causing Kenichi's head to perk up. "We found her passed out from hunger in one of the empty club rooms."

"SHE WHAT?" Kenichi shouted as he shot to his feet. "That stupid...making everyone worry...I'm gonna give her such a..."

Kenichi stopped rambling for a moment as he took a deep breath and grabbed Yuu by the shoulders.

"Thanks man," he said honestly. "For finding her."

"You must have been worried."

"Nah, I wasn't worried at all. Her family was though so you really helped them out so I'm saying thanks on their behalf. So...'thanks.'"

"You're welcome," Yuu nodded.

Kenichi simply smiled brightly as he nodded his head, gratitude and relief radiating from his body.

"You know...not to sound strange or anything...but I really feel like I can count on you," Kenichi nodded as he extended his hand out. "Hope we can continue this blossoming friendship, Narukami."

"Sure," Yuu nodded back as he shook Kenichi's hand, feeling the other's boy's trust in him.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me. I need to go smack a blockhead's blocked head."

With that, Kenichi ran past Yuu and up the stairs while Yuu quickly put on his shoes and ran as fast as he could toward the hospital, hoping he would make it before Visiting Hours were over.

* * *

He wasn't coming.

Akemi Homura had sat in bed all day, anticipating the boy that had complimented her on her story.

However, as she sat in bed and stared at the clock, Homura knew that it would take him a while to get to the hospital once school ended at around three so she was patient. Bu then dinnertime came and went and the boy still didn't show up.

"Maybe...it was bad to get my hopes up..." she muttered as she looked down at the envelope she had in her hands.

She was just about to give up when the door to her room flew open and a boy in a yellow school uniform placed his hand against the wall as he gasped for breath, holding a hand up to her as if to tell her that he needed a moment before he could say anything.

"Give...give me...a...moment..." Narukami Yuu gasped as he held a hand to his chest and straightened himself up.

"Did you...run all the way here?" Homura asked slowly.

"I...don't know the bus schedule..." the boy replied. "And...I got held up...after class. Clean up duty..."

Homura quickly pointed to a chair beside her bed where a pitcher of water and some paper cups rested on the table next to it.

Yuu gratefully walked over to it and filled himself three cups of water before sitting down on the chair with a long sigh and a cough.

"Sorry," he said as he lowered his head in a bow. "I'm very late aren't I?"

Homura looked up at the clock.

It was already half past seven, meaning that there was only half an hour left before visiting hours were over. Hardly any time for any sort of reading.

"Just...a little bit..." Homura replied honestly.

"I'll make it up to you," Yuu said quickly. "Is there anything you want? I'll buy it for you."

"No, it's fine, really!" Homura said as she quickly raised her hands up.

They only just met after all. It would be rude for her to take money from him for something like this.

"But...I broke a promise..."

"You had stuff to do at school, right? Then...it couldn't have been helped."

"Still...I want to do something to make it up to you."

Homura thought about it for a moment. He was definitely ashamed of himself for missing the appointment and looked like he would beat himself up for it constantly.

"Then...how about a cake?" Homura asked.

"A cake?" Yuu repeated.

"I...umm...haven't had one in a long time. The hospital doesn't really have much in the way of sweets...you know?" she asked and Yuu nodded in understanding.

"I understand," Yuu nodded. "Any kind in particular?"

"Ummm...can I leave that up to you?"

Yuu held his hand up to his chin for a moment before nodding his head.

"Thank you, Narukami-san."

"No, it's my pleasure. I'll bring it tomorrow. Umm...I know there's not much time, but can I read a bit?"

"Ah, sure..."

And so she handed the envelope with her story to him and he carefully pulled the pages out and started reading in silence as she kept an eye on his face, trying to see if he would react the way she hoped he would react when reading certain segments.

It wasn't much, but he seemed to generally have positive reactions as he read.

And those thirty minutes passed far too quickly for her liking.

* * *

Chapter's End Corner

**Harouki**: Happy New Year!

**Sayaka**: You're late! And I didn't even show up at all in this chapter! Not even in passing! What happened to being your favorite?

**Harouki**: Nothing happened. You're just not that important to the overall story yet.

**Sayaka:** Damn it! I'm a main character too!

**Harouki**: In any case...I am not satisfied with this chapter at all. I feel like I wrote myself into a corner with Kyouko's dungeon and I apologize if I insulted anyone with it. Also, in the process of writing this chapter, I learned that I swear a LOT in every day speech. Do you have any idea how hard it is to write a crass person who doesn't use swear words like "hell" or "damn" and things like that? I can't even use "heck" I think...I also thought I couldn't use "god" in vain either. I need to expand my freaking vocabulary...

**Sayaka**: So...what's next on the agenda?

**Harouki:** I'm going to stick with this for a bit as I've finally gotten past this damn hurtle. Though I might have to speed the timeline along a little bit. For my plans...we got a whole freaking month before the next dungeon zone. Time to work on those S-Links Yuu!


	8. Chapter 8: The Holy Flame

**Author's Notes:** PRAISE THE SUN! THE CHAPTER FINALLY SHOWED UP! I apologize for all the troubles, but it wasn't my fault! The site just refused to update the story! It wasn't just me that was having problems, every single fic which updated today Feb 9, 2013, seemed to have problems. But it's up! Now enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Holy Flame**

* * *

**Wednesday, September 16****th****: Raining**

Homura frowned as she continued reading the diary.

She vaguely remembered starting a novel in her spare time but scraped the work when she was stuck in the hospital but she scrapped it soon after starting, being unable to come up with any ideas to further it along...or rather she didn't have anyone to read it seeing as she wrote it on paper instead of on a word document to post online for critique.

The changes in this new timeline...adding this Narukami Yuu seemed to have caused more changes than she thought. It was almost as strange as the timeline in which Kamijou Kyousuke was a guitarist instead of a violinist...

Not that that changed Sayaka's fate any...

She shook her head to clear the unpleasant memories and looked at the next entry.

_**April 29th **_

_Why do I have this body? Why do I have to be sick? Why can't I even keep a promise?_

Homura's mouth thinned to a grimace as she continued reading.

* * *

**Previous Day**

* * *

**Wednesday, April 29th: Raining**

Yuu let out a yawn as he sat up from bed and turned toward the window.

The rain was steadily beating down on his window. The fog was sure to roll in tomorrow at this rate.

They managed to dodge a bullet and save Kyouko from the other world and he had managed to pull out a new Persona to do so.

Today was Showa Day so school was closed, leaving him free to spend his day at the hospital.

Well, that wasn't something he'd thought he'd ever say.

Visiting hours don't start until after lunch so he would have some time in the morning for himself.

"Better time than any to look up the bus schedule," he muttered, checking his phone.

* * *

"Did you make it to your appointment in time?" Madoka asked Yuu during breakfast.

"Barely," Yuu replied, spreading butter on his toast. "I kept them waiting though."

"Oh? Did you go on a date, Yuu-kun?" Junko asked slyly.

"No, I visited someone in the hospital."

"Ahh...did a friend of yours get hurt?"

"No, just someone I met when a friend asked me to accompany her."

"Hohoh...so you did go on a date before. Not even a month since coming here, good job, Yuu-kun."

"This sounds familiar..."

"Didn't Sayaka-chan say the same thing?" Madoka asked.

"Oh...that's right..." Yuu nodded.

"Putting that aside, you two have exams next week right?" Tomohisa asked causing Yuu to nod in confirmation and Madoka to freeze in the middle of a bite of her toast. "Have you studied?"

"A little bit. Still need to review some things though."

"That's good. And Madoka?"

"I'm...working on it?" Madoka offered.

"You better not get thirty-seven points again, do you hear me?" Junko warned her.

"Yes Mama..."

"Thirty-seven?" Yuu asked incredulously. "Out of...fifty?"

His aunt and uncle simply shook their heads as Madoka tried to hide under the table.

"Sorry, Yuu-kun," Tomohisa said. "Can we ask you to help Madoka study this week?"

"By that we mean make sure she actually studies," Junko added causing Yuu to laugh nervously as Madoka disappeared under the table completely.

"That's fine," Yuu nodded. "I'll help her study at night then."

"Good, we'll count on you then. Oh, but make sure your own grades take priority. It would be bad if they drop because you were looking after Madoka."

"Got it."

"Muu...everyone is so mean..." Madoka cried.

* * *

After breakfast, Yuu pulled on a coat and got an umbrella out from the closet.

"Oh, heading out?" Tomohisa asked.

"Yeah, I have a few things I need to buy," Yuu nodded.

"I see. Do you need some pocket money?"

"No thank you.. I have enough."

"Okay then. Have a safe trip and don't come back too late."

"Understood. See you later."

Pushing the umbrella opened, Yuu stepped out of the house and into the rain, checking the bus schedule as he walked.

"Two hours until noon," Yuu noted. "Maybe I can buy that study guide that's on sale first...oh, Off Today is coming out soon? Yeah, I'm stopping by there first. Need to reserve it."

He took the bus at the end of the block to the department store, which took about forty minutes.

"As expected of this city..." Yuu muttered as he got out of the bus and looked up at the building. "It's amazingly huge..."

Seven stories tall with about twenty stores on each floor.

"How do they all stay in business?" he wondered as he entered the building.

Putting that thought aside for now he quickly located the directory and found the closest bookstore on the second floor..

Even though it was raining, the bookstore was still very crowded. It seemed that a lot of people were taking advantage of the day off to either enjoy themselves with friends or to go buy study materials like he was. He spotted several people from his school that he knew in passing.

Returning any greetings directed his way, Yuu made his way to the section for school materials.

"Ah there it is," he said. "Expert Study Methods..."

He reached out toward the book only to see another hand reaching for it as well.

"Hmm?"

"Oh!"

Yuu and the other person both pulled their hand away from the book and turned toward each other.

"Ara, Narukami-senpai, good afternoon to you."

"Hello, Shizuki. Here."

Yuu reached toward the shelf again and pulled two copies of the book out and handed it to Hitomi.

"Ah, thank you very much," Hitomi said as she took the book from him. "Are you preparing for the exams next week too? I suppose it's more important for you because of high school exams?"

"Yeah," Yuu nodded. "Though I would probably be looking for a high school back home rather than here in Mitakihara."

"Ara, that's right. Madoka-san said that you were only staying here for a year. It must be very troublesome moving all the time."

"Yeah, it can be," Yuu replied simply as he looked down towards a stack of books in Hitomi's hands. "That's a lot of books."

"Hmm? Ahh...yes. I'm taking a lot of extra curricular activities so I need a lot of study materials..."

Looking down at the titles, Yuu spotted a wide assortment of titles.

Piano, tea ceremony, and classical Japanese dance amongst others.

"Aren't you the class rep for your class as well?"

"Yes...well...no one else wanted to do it..."

"How do you have any free time?"

"It's not that I don't have free time, Narukami-senpai. I just use my free time for these activities."

"Oh...when you put it that way..."

"It is not that I am being forced into doing these things by my parents or anything like that. I do them because I generally enjoy them."

"I see..." Yuu replied. "But...doesn't it still seems like it's a bit much?"

"Not really. I think this is normal?"

As expected of people in this city. Even their ambitions are big.

"But, you and Madoka-san seem to be running off together quite often," Hitomi said with a sly smile that contrasted heavily with Yuu's image of her.

"Really? Isn't that normal for family to spend time together?"

"Hmm...I suppose so. Very well, I will leave it at that for today. "

"Please leave it alone forever."

"How can I? You keep taking my precious friend's free time away from me," Hitomi teased. "Ara...poor Madoka-san. Being seduced by her tall dark and cooler cousin."

"What?"

"Ara? Is that not how it goes? In dramas."

"My life is not a drama..."

"Really?" Hitomi asked. "I think you would look great on TV."

"Haha...I wonder..." Yuu replied, averting his eyes.

It was then Yuu began to suspect that Hitomi was one of those people who knew, or at the very least suspected, that there was something more going on.

Though Yuu couldn't tell about the world behind the TV he because he didn't want to get any of Madoka's friends involved in something dangerous and he was pretty sure that she wouldn't really believe him even if he told her.

It was bad enough Madoka was involved at all. And if it was him in the first Midnight Channel, then it was his fault.

"Now then, shall we go?" Hitomi asked, snapping Yuu back to earth.

"Y-yeah," Yuu nodded as he followed Hitomi to the register. He glanced down at the younger girl's books and opened his mouth.

"I can carry my own books, Senpai."

"...I was going to say your laces were undone."

"Ara, really?" Hitomi asked as she looked down.

"Just kidding."

"Ara, how sneaky..."

* * *

Yuu bade goodbye to Hitomi after that and headed toward a bakery for Homura's cake.

Not being sure which one she would like, he just bought a bunch of random things that looked good so he could quickly leave and catch the bus to the hospital. Of course, he avoided getting things that looked like it might be too sweet, just in case. The chiffon and sponge cake seemed like a good choice.

By the time he got to the hospital, it was about two o'clock.

It was another ten minutes before he reached Homura's room...only to see a "Do not Disturb" sign hanging from her door.

"Eh?"

Yuu stared at the sign for a moment before grabbing and jiggling the handle.

The door was locked.

"What's..."

"Oh, are you visiting Akemi-san?" a voice from behind him asked.

"Y-yeah," Yuu nodded as he turned around to see a nurse standing behind him.

"Unfortunately, she had an attack in the middle of the night so she can't see anyone right now."

"Is she okay?"

"Yes, she's calmed down by now but the doctor doesn't want to take any chances. I think she's still sleeping off her medicine right now."

"Oh...then can you hold onto these for her?"

"Hmm? Cakes?"

The nurse took the bag from Yuu and peered inside.

"Chiffons and sponge cakes..." the nurse noted before a sly smile appeared on her face. "Huh, are you trying to woo a sickly girl, young man?"

"She asked for them," Yuu replied.

"I'm sure she did. Unfortunately I don't think she can eat the chiffons. The sponge cakes will be fine though. If she wakes up tonight I'll hand them to her."

"Thank you," Yuu said with a bow as the nurse walked away with the cakes, leaving the chiffons with Yuu. "What am I supposed to do with these? I guess I'll bring them home..."

On the way back out of the hospital though, he heard a familiar voice.

"I'm telling ya, you're all overreacting! I'm fine!"

Yuu turned his head to the voices and saw a man in priest robes walk out of a room followed by a woman and a little girl.

"Nevertheless, this is just a precaution, Kyouko," the man said.

"Don't worry, you'll be back in school in time for your exams," the woman added.

"Grk...on second thought...I feel very very bad. Let me stay here for two weeks."

"Nice try," the priest said with a smile. "You'll be back home before Golden Week. So please be good and listen to the doctors."

"Tch...kay~"

The man and his left in the same direction Yuu was heading as Yuu walked up to the room and eyed the nameplate on the side.

"Sakura Kyouko."

Looks like her parents admitted her into the hospital as she had "fainted" at school.

"I wonder..." Yuu muttered as he looked down at the bag in his hand and knocked on the door.

"It's open," Kyouko called out.

"Good afternoon," Yuu greeted as he entered the room, as Kyouko's jaw dropped.

"You!" she shouted as she pointed a finger at him before pulling her sheets up in front of her. "How did...when did...why are you here?"

"I was visiting another friend when I overheard you talking with your family," Yuu said as he came in and sat down next to Kyouko's bed.

"Oh...how much did you hear?"

"Just the end. Should I leave?"

"No. actually, I wanted to ask you a few...what's that?"

Kyouko cut herself off when Yuu placed the box onto the nightstand beside Kyouko's bed.

"Some cake."

"W-why do you have cake on you?"

"I was going to eat with my friend but they're unavailable. Want it?"

"I-I wasn't going to ask, okay?" Kyouko half-shouted at him while taking a look inside the box. "I'm only taking some because you offered! So don't...mmf...expect me to pay you back...namf..."

"You really shouldn't talk with your mouth full," Yuu said as Kyouko started stuffing her face. "There are forks...and napkins..."

"Yeah yeah," Kyouko said as she finished off the slice she was eating. "So yeah...I've been meaning to ask you some questions."

"Fair enough. Go ahead."

"First off, just what was that foggy place?" she demanded.

"I don't know what it is exactly," Yuu admitted. "Only that people that appear on the Midnight Channel end up being trapped inside."

"Midnight Channel? Oh...that soul mate thing people are talking about."

"It doesn't actually show soul mates though."

"Uh huh."

"Do you remember what you were doing after you left class?"

"Hmm..." Kyouko hummed as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes in thought. "I think I fell asleep in front of the TV? It's a bit of a blur. My parents thought I'd left for school early that day so...what? Was I spirited away in the middle of the night or something?"

"It happened to Tomoe and me too," Yuu replied. "For me my head started hurting and I felt I was being dragged into the TV."

"Great...so Ken's freaking superstition about monsters living behind the TV is true. Any idea why me?"

"No clue. Between me, you and Tomoe...the only thing we have in common is..."

"Well we're in the same class...and that's about it...?" Kyouko asked and Yuu nodded. "So whoever gets dragged into the TV gets those strange superpowers?"

"So it seems," Yuu replied.

"So what about that pink shortie?"

"Madoka?"

Yuu suddenly felt bad that that description made him immediately think of Madoka.

"Yeah her. Why was she in there?"

"She got dragged in with me."

"I...see..." Kyouko muttered as she looked down.

"Glad your sister wasn't dragged in with you?" Yuu guessed.

"Y-yeah...I don't know how she would have reacted if she came face to face with a giant monster..."

"Shadow."

"Huh?"

"They're called Shadows, the monsters."

"Did you come up with that name yourself or what?"

"No. Kyubey did."

"And Kyubey is?"

"Something that lives in that world that helped me find people who get dragged in."

"And he looks like...?"

"A cat with rabbit ears coming out of the cat ears?"

"And why do you know him?"

"He helps us fight the Shadows."

"What exactly are Shadows?"

"Dark human emotions, I think."

"So how does Kyubey or whatever help you fight them?"

"He allows us to fight more efficiently with our Persona."

"And a Persona is?"

"The power you got from facing yourself."

"And how do you fight more efficiently with them?"

"We merge with them and get magic clothing I guess?"

"ISN'T THIS A FREAKING MAGICAL GIRL PLOT?" Kyouko shouted.

"I'm not a girl though," Yuu replied.

"No...but put on a tux and a mask and you'll probably fit right in with the girls..."

"I don't get it."

"Never mind," Kyouko sighed as she reached for another cake, only to see that she had already eaten the last one during the interrogation. "Uhh...oops?"

"It's fine," Yuu said as he went and placed the empty box into the trash.

"Ken was right," Kyouko sighed as she rubbed her eyes. "You _are_ too nice."

"Is that bad?" Yuu asked.

"No no, it's great...it just makes me feel bad..."

"Why?"

"Never mind. Forget I said anything."

Yuu simply shrugged as he sat back down on the chair.

"So why are you doing this?" Kyouko asked. "This saving people thing?"

"Because no one else can, I suppose," Yuu replied.

"Any benefits to doing this? I mean, besides the whole saving people thing."

"Well...I suppose getting paid for each Shadow I defeat is a benefit."

"How much are we talking about?"

"It's payment per Shadow and each Shadow seems to be worth a different amount. I got around fifty thousand for saving you but..."

"Sign me up!"

Kyouko immediately leaned over and grabbed Yuu's hands with hers.

"Huh?"

"You heard me! Sign me up!" Kyouko repeated. "I want to help. I got that Personal Power thing right?"

"Persona..." Yuu corrected. "And are you sure? It's dangerous. We almost died five times getting to you yesterday. Not to mention your Shadow."

"Then if you have more people then it won't be as difficult right?" Kyouko countered. "I'll pull my own weight! Or is it because the more people the less reward you get?"

"No, we each get paid the same amount. If we beat a Shadow worth fifty, we each get fifty."

"Then there's no problem if I join in right?"

"Well...if you insist I won't stop you."

"I do," Kyouko said as she crossed her arms and nodded her head.

"Okay then," Yuu said as he stood up. "Then I'll see you at school. We'll show you the Shadow World again after the exams."

"Meh, I suppose," Kyouko sighed as she slumped back down on the bed. "See ya."

And with that, Yuu left Kyouko to herself.

* * *

**Thursday, April 30th: Sunny**

"The fog is back..." Madoka said as she and Yuu walked down the path to school.

"Yeah," Yuu nodded. "But Sakura is okay so we don't need to worry."

"I still wonder why people are being dragged in. Maybe it's punishment for watching TV at night?"

"I really doubt it."

"Hmm...oh! Good morning, Sayaka-chan! Hitomi-chan!"

"Morning!"

"Good morning."

"Morning."

"Are you all studying properly?" Hitomi asked.

"More or less," Yuu nodded while the other two simply glanced to the side.

"Grr...who the heck cares about exams!" Sayaka shouted to the air, causing other people to look over at them. "Why do we need them anyway? They don't properly measure someone's intelligence anyway!"

"Sayaka-chan..." Madoka sighed as Yuu and Hitomi tried to avoid associating themselves with her.

"Maybe if we have a study session over Golden Week?" Hitomi suggested.

"Golden Week should be used for fun! Not for preparing for exams!" Sayaka shot back, thrusting a finger at Hitomi's direction.

"Hmm, I think we can hold it over at my house," Madoka said, ignoring Sayaka, causing the girl's arm to go limp. "Can you help me? Yuu-kun has been helping me too but I still don't really get it."

"I would be happy to help."

"Will having more people really help?" Yuu asked as the three of them kept on walking, leaving a stunned and ignored Sayaka behind.

"More teachers can't be a bad thing!"

"W-wait a minute..." Sayaka began.

"Maybe the library would be a better place?" Yuu suggested.

"But we can't have snacks in there," Madoka replied.

"I thought you wanted to study?" Hitomi asked.

"It's better if you have snacks as well!"

"H-hey..."

"Then would the fourth be a good day?Is your family planning on doing something on Children's Day right, Madoka-san?"

"No, I don't think so."

"I'm sorry so please stop ignoring me!" Sayaka shouted as she suddenly dived and hugged Madoka from behind.

"Kyah!" Madoka screamed. "W-wait a minute, Sayaka-chan!"

"Please! You're my waifu after all! Don't leave me behind!"

"Sayaka-chan!"

"Shall we go, Narukami-senpai?" Hitomi asked, pointing down the road.

"Yeah," Yuu nodded as the two of them continued on.

"W-wait a minute!" Madoka called out after them. "Wait!"

* * *

"Good morning, Narukami-san," Mami said as Yuu sat down at his desk.

"Good morning, Tomoe," Yuu replied.

"Did you make it to your appointment in time?"

"Yeah. Barely. Still got there very late though."

"I see...were they mad?"

"No, but I still felt bad..."

"Oi Narukami!"

The two of them were interrupted as Kenichi came up to them.

"What's wrong, Katou?" Yuu asked.

"I have a big favor to ask of you," the other boy said as he clapped his hands together.

"A loan?"

"Who do you think I am, Kyouko? No, I was hoping you could tutor me."

"Sure but...why me?"

"Because you got a perfect score even though you were as high as a kite that one day! My old man's not too happy with my grades recently so I'm begging ya!"

"S-sure..." Yuu said as Ken clapped his hands together in front of him.

"Thanks man!" Ken said pumped his hand. "You're a lifesaver!"

"My cousin is having her friends over on the fourth. Why not come then?"

"That right? Then I'll look forward to it. Hey Tomoe, why don't you come too?"

"Eh? Me?" Mami asked, looking a bit startled before turning back toward Yuu. "Umm...is it okay?"

"Sure, it will be fun," Yuu said with a nod.

"T-then...thank you. I'll come."

"What about you, Kure?"

Kirika jumped as the others turned toward her.

"I...I'm going to be busy...sorry..." the girl replied shrinking away from the others.

"O-oh..." Kenichi muttered as he let out a cough in his hand. "Sorry to bother you then."

Kirika simply nodded as she turned back toward her book.

"A-anyway...think we can get Kyouko to come too?"

"Would Sakura even want to come?"

"Considering her grades? Yeah, I think her mom will make her come."

"Then...here's the address..."

"Cool," Kenichi said as he copied the address down. "Can't wait."

"S-should I bring something over?" Mami asked as Kenichi returned to his seat. "Some cake maybe?"

"I think it's fine..." Yuu said as Mami seemed to fret.

"How many people...umm...Kaname-san and Katou-san...how many of her friends are coming?"

"Two...I think?"

"T-then...one, two...maybe two whole cakes? Oh but two boys might eat a lot..."

"I think my uncle would be able to handle any meals. Don't worry too much."

"O-okay..."

"Is it something to be so nervous about?" Yuu asked.

"It's..." Mami began as she fiddled with her fingers. "It's the first time..."

"First time?"

"First time...that I was invited to a...a friend's...house..."

"Oh..."

Yuu wasn't sure what to say after that.

* * *

**Monday, May 5th: Sunny**

"We got great weather today don't you think, Yuu-kun?" Madoka asked as she looked out into the back yard while Yuu was setting up another small table in the living room.

"Yeah," Yuu nodded as he placed the last of the cushions down. "But...will you really study with a group? You seemed to have trouble concentrating during the other sessions..."

"I-I'll do fine! Really!"

As Yuu looked at his cousin skeptically, the doorbell rang.

"I-I'll get it!" Madoka said as she ran toward the door.

Yuu simply sighed as he went into the kitchen to grab some crackers and chips. He was just putting them on the tables when Madoka came back in with Sayaka and Hitomi behind her.

"Oh, you're here?" Yuu asked, looking at Sayaka.

"What's wrong with me being here?" Sayaka asked as she crossed her arms.

"What happened to playing during Golden Week?"

"They'll certainly be time to play afterward!"

"Is that so? Good luck."

"Your classmates are coming too, aren't they?" Hitomi asked as Sayaka sat down at the table for the second years and started grumbling to herself while snacking on the rice crackers.

"Yeah. Tomoe, Sakura and Katou."

"Who's Sakura?" Sayaka asked before a smirk appeared on her face. "And why do you call her by her first name when you call everyone else by their last name?"

"Sakura Kyouko," Yuu clarified. "Her family owns a church in Kasaimino."

"Wait...her last name is also a first name?" Sayaka asked. "Isn't that just strange?"

"_You are one to talk..._" Yuu thought and judging from the other girls' expressions, they were thinking the same thing.

"What?"

"W-well, I don't think it's her fault," Madoka said.

"W-well, shall we get started?" Hitomi asked as she held up her books.

"Yeah," Yuu nodded.

* * *

About an hour later, the doorbell rang and Yuu stood up from marking Madoka's answers and went over to answer it.

"Good morning," Mami said when he opened the door. She had her bag around one shoulder with three boxes in her hands.

"You bought them?" Yuu asked.

"I bought them," Mami confirmed. "I'm sorry...I'm still just a bit nervous..."

"It's fine. Please come in."

"S-sorry for intruding..."

Yuu took the boxes from Mami before leading the way inside.

"You came, Mami-san!" Madoka said when she saw them come in.

"Oh, Tomoe-senpai!" Sayaka said as she waved at her from her seat. "It's been a while!"

"Good morning, Tomoe-senpai," Hitomi said.

"Good morning, everyone," Mami replied, suddenly gaining confidence out of nowhere and looking much more sure of herself. Yuu wondered if It was because she was being called "Senpai" and wanted to act like one. "I brought cake."

"Oh! Then let's take a break and have some!" Sayaka said.

"Not yet," Hitomi said. "You still haven't finished the work page."

"You can't concentrate on studying if your blood sugar's too low, right?" Sayaka replied. "So let's just take a quick break!"

"Why don't we wait for the other two to come before..." Yuu began before his phone started ringing. "Hmm? A text?"

Flipping it open, he quickly checked the new message.

"_We're almost there. Go ahead and start the party without us! 2K_."

"It's not a party," Yuu replied as he sent the text.

"Come on, at least let's have one slice!" Sayaka said. "They're almost here anyway!"

"No you cannot, Sayaka-san," Hitomi said sternly. "If you stop now you'll never get your pace back."

"I barely have a pace to begin with!"

"Exactly."

"Grk..."

"Is it always like this?" Mami asked.

"I deal with this every morning..." Yuu said with a sigh.

"It's not that bad...is it?" Madoka asked. "Sayaka-chan is a good person! She's just...excitable?"

"I can see that," Mami replied.

"I'll put these in the fridge," Yuu said as he carried the cakes off into the kitchen.

* * *

"We're here..." Kyouko let out a long breath as she and Kenichi entered the house.

"Welcome," Yuu replied.

"Sorry we're late," Kenichi said with a sigh as he took off his shoes. "Made a wrong turn a few times."

"It's fine. We just barely got started."

"Why do I have to be here?" Kyouko asked.

"Because your mom was pissed that you keep screwing around on your tests," Kenichi replied.

"Shut it, you."

"Everyone else is already here, so introduce yourself, Sakura," Yuu said as he led the two of them into the living room.

"Meh...okay," Kyouko shrugged.

When the three of them entered the living room, the other four girls turned to look.

"Ah, Sakura-san, are you feeling better?" Mami asked.

"Yeah I suppose," Kyouko replied dully. "Sakura Kyouko. Just Kyouko is fine. Nice to meet you."

"You sound like you don't wanna be here," Sayaka noted.

"Cuz I don't."

"Ehh, even though Tomoe-senpai bought a cake?"

"Cake?"

"Oh no..." Kenichi groaned.

"But we still haven't..." Hitomi began.

"Ya can't concentrate on studying with if your blood sugar's too low ya know!"

"Oh! You say some good things!" Sayaka said as she clapped her hands and pointed at Kyouko

"Are we really going to get studying done?" Yuu sighed.

"I'm sorry..." Kenichi apologized. "This is my fault."

"It's fine...I think," Mami said. "Miki-san and Kaname-san were close to their breaking point after all."

"The exams are in two days aren't they?" Yuu asked. "Will they really be all right?"

In the end, they decided to take a quick lunch break.

"Oi Ken," Kyouko said as Madoka and Yuu went to grab the food and tableware.

"What?" the boy asked as he looked up from his study guide.

"We're eating right now. Put that away."

"I didn't get any studying in today. I'll study as I eat."

"Focus on one thing and not the other!"

"They really get along well don't they?" Sayaka noted.

"Like you and Madoka-san do," Hitomi chimed in.

"Of course we do. Madoka is my wife after all!" Sayaka said as she grabbed Madoka's legs.

"W-wait a minute, Sayaka-chan!" Madoka said as she tried to keep from falling over as Mami quickly took the dishes from her hands. "That's dangerous!"

"Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves," Mami said as she set the plates on the table.

"Here's the food," Yuu said as he set down a large bowl of pasta on the table.

"Oh, that looks great!" Kyouko said as they pushed the tables together.

"Papa made a lot so don't hold back," Madoka said.

"Hmm, come to think of it, I haven't seen Tatsuya today," Sayaka said. "Where is he?"

"Who's Tatsuya?" Mami asked.

"He's my younger brother," Madoka replied. "He's three years old and Papa's watching over him so he doesn't run in while we study."

"Whoa! Have some restraint Kyouko!"

Everyone turned their head to see Kyouko piling a large pile of pasta onto her plate.

"It's not going to go anywhere," Yuu said. "Oji-san made a lot more than this."

"See, it's fine!" Kyouko said as she sat back down and scooped a large portion of the pasta into her mouth with her fork. "Whoa, this is great!"

"Wow, you're right..." Mami said as she placed a hand on her cheek.

"Your _dad_ made this?" Kenichi asked.

"As expected of Mr. Kaname," Sayaka said. "Good as always."

"That's right," Madoka nodded. "Papa's food is always good."

"Huh, you're eating with a spoon, Madoka-san?" Hitomi asked.

"Eh?"

"Hey Madoka, they say that in the country pasta came from only babies use a spoon to eat pasta you know?" Sayaka asked with a smirk.

"EH!?"

"Oh, I've heard that before," Mami said.

"Aww...is it dewicious, Mado-tan?" Sayaka asked.

"Uuu...it's good..." Madoka sighed. "It's just that eating with a spoon is easier..."

"Eh? Really?" Kenichi and Yuu asked at the same time.

"You don't think so?"

"I've always eaten with a fork," Kenichi replied as Yuu nodded his head. "How do you eat it with a spoon? It looks like it would just slide right off."

"Yeah a fork is the best way to eat it isn't it?" Kyouko asked as she just scooped another large portion of pasta into her mouth.

"I guess that's how you'd eat with a spoon..." Yuu muttered.

"To...slurp it up like soba?" Hitomi asked.

"Who cares how you eat it! Food is food! I mean, why don't we just eat it with chopsticks! We're Japanese after all!"

"Just shut up and eat," Kenichi sighed as Yuu stood up. "Hmm? Where are you going?"

"To get chopsticks," Yuu replied.

"Huh, why?" Hitomi asked.

"Didn't Sakura want some?"

"No...I really don't care," Kyouko said waving her hand.

"Oh. Okay."

And with that, Yuu sat back down and continued eating.

"I can't understand you sometimes man," Kenichi sighed.

After lunch the group went back to studying, with Yuu and Mami being the ones to lead.

Madoka's only remaining weak point was Math while Sayaka was unsure of both Math and English. Kyouko felt confident in English but didn't feel up to speed in History and Kenichi had problems in English as well.

"Gah!" Sayaka groaned for the fifth time in as many minutes. "Why the heck do we have to learn English? Why can't the whole world just speak the same language?"

"If that was the case, I believe English would be the main language," Mami said causing Sayaka to sigh in defeat. "Though...I'm surprised you are so fluent in English, Sakura-san."

"Meh...I use a lot of English at home," Kyouko said with a shrug. "And I told you Kyouko is fine. Or at least drop the honorific."

"I'm sorry. But that's still a bit..."

"Ah whatever. Anyway, help me with the Sengoku period."

"I think the best way to remember the vocabulary is to write it out often," Yuu was saying to Madoka, Hitomi, and Kenichi as Sayaka drew her attention back to him. "You can't rely on vocalization too much as English tends to use the same two letters for different sounds."

"Like 'cat' and cave' correct?" Hitomi asked. "The 'ca-' has different sounds."

"Ugh...I can't count how many times I wrote 'ke-ve' for cave..." Kenichi sighed. "At least 'cat' is easy enough. Just drop the 'o' at the end...and remember to make it a 'c' instead of a 'k'... stupid English."

"Uuu...are we really going to be okay for the exams?" Madoka wondered.

"You shouldn't sound so defeated, Madoka-san," Hitomi said. "At the very least, I'm sure you will pass your exams."

"Uuu...I hope so..."

The studies proceeded without much incident after that and Yuu felt that teaching the others helped him understand the material even better.

* * *

"Hey Yuu," Kyouko said as she leaned over to him. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Hmm?" Yuu asked as he looked up from his book. "Need to know where the bathroom is?"

"No you dolt!" Kyouko shouted as she grabbed him by the arm. "Come here!"

Kyouko dragged Yuu out into the hallway, out of earshot of the others, before talking again.

"I wanted to ask you something," she said.

"What?" Yuu asked.

"Who's in the know of this Shadow business?"

"Just you, me, Madoka and Tomoe."

"Huh...I thought all of them were in on it. Good thing I asked."

"Why?"

"Isn't that how it goes?" Kyouko asked. "The hero that shows up in a new town is protecting the world with the friends he makes?"

"What?" Yuu asked.

"It's very _boring_ just sitting in the hospital," Kyouko replied. "You read whatever you can get. Especially when they don't give you a TV. So much for being fancy."

"Even though you were pulled into one?"

"Hmm? Oh right! I forgot about that part, ahahaha! It just doesn't seem...I don't know...real. You haven't been pulled in a second time have you?"

"No. I don't think Tomoe has either."

"Then I should be okay, right? Though how I managed to fit into my tiny screen in the first place worries me..." Kyouko mumbled as an afterthought. "Anyway, let's get back before we are missed."

"Right."

And so they passed the rest of the day in peace.

* * *

**Thursday, May 7th: Raining**

"The weather matches the mood I suppose," Yuu muttered as his eyes were locked onto Madoka who was holding an umbrella in one hand and a clip of flashcards in the other. Yuu was holding onto her bag for her as the girl was desperately getting in some last minute studying.

"Tsukue – Desk. Isu – Chair. Tokei – Clock," Madoka recited dutifully.

Yuu was sure that it was only math and social studies today, but didn't say anything as he thought the different years might have different test schedules.

"Well, it will probably work out in the end."

As they got closer to the school, Yuu saw Hitomi and Sayaka walking just a bit further ahead with Sayaka also nose-deep in some flashcards.

"2B+Ph...1/3Bh...B+1/2P..." she muttered to herself not even noticing anyone else around her.

"Good morning, Narukami-senpai, Madoka-san," Hitomi greeted.

"Good morning," Yuu returned and Madoka mumbled something that sounded like "Morning."

"Umm...Madoka-san, it's math and social studies today."

Madoka immediately froze as the umbrella slowly slipped out of her hand, making Yuu quickly hold his own umbrella over his cousin's head.

"Eh?" she asked as she looked toward Hitomi. "Ehhhhhhhhh!? Why didn't you tell me, Yuu-kun?"

"I thought different years had different test schedules...sorry..." Yuu replied.

"Don't be sorry," Hitomi said. "All classes usually have different schedules. I suppose it's just coincidence that ours are the same."

"Oh no! What am I going to do!?" Madoka cried.

"Can you keep it down...?" Sayaka asked in a tired sounding voice. "I'm going to forget these..."

"Waaahh!"

* * *

"Now then, for the next three days, you all are going to be taking your exams with two subjects each day," Katou replied as he wrote on the whiteboard. "Today will be Math and Japanese. Tomorrow will be Biology and Science. Then Health and English. And finally Social Studies on Saturday. School will be half days until all the tests are finished but the libraries are open until seven for anyone who needs to be studying. It may be tempting to goof off after each set of exams but if you wish to continue your studies into high school, then you should be studying after class each day as well."

Although Yuu was listening to the lecture, he noticed that several of his classmates, Kyouko included, were busy fretting and going over last minute notes. When Katou turned around to write something else on the board, Yuu saw a paper ball fly in the air and land on his desk.

Looking at the source, he saw Kenichi wave at him.

Opening the ball up, he saw that it was a request to meet up in the library for more study sessions. Yuu looked back up and met the other boy's eyes before nodding, causing the boy to clap his hands together and nod in thanks.

"All right," Katou said as he rapped his hands on the podium. "Your first exam starts in five minutes. Put your notes away, get out your pencils, start praying, and good luck."

A loud groan came from the students as people started rustling in their bags while Katou headed out the door to head to a different classroom so he could deliver the tests to a different class that was taking his subject first.

"I hope everyone does well..." Yuu muttered as the math teacher came in.

* * *

**Thursday, May 9th: Cloudy/Raining**

"All right, pencils down!" Katou shouted as the final bell rang which was followed by a mixture of cheers for the exams being over and groans from those who felt that they did horribly. "It's nice to see that you are all reasonably happy. School will be let out now so go celebrate or whatever. Test scores and student placements will be posted in the entrance hall on the ground floor in about a week or so. I do hope you all did well. Class dismissed."

Yuu let out a long sigh as he passed his test forward and leaned back in his chair.

"Good work," Mami said next to him.

"Yeah, you too."

"How do you think you did?"

"Not bad I suppose," Yuu replied as his eyes turned toward Kyouko and Kenichi, the tow of them sprawled out across their desks. "Better than those two, I think."

"I see..." Mami replied as she turned her head toward them as well.

Kyouko then pushed herself to her feet, grabbed her bag and headed out the door, her body swaying left and right as she did. Once she was gone, Kenichi's head rose from his desk and he quickly made his way over to Mami and Yuu.

"Hey, are you two busy right now?" he asked.

"No..." Yuu began.

"Not really..." Mami nodded.

"Then, can you two hear me out for a bit? It's about Kyouko."

"Did you want us to cheer her up?" Mami asked, probably recalling the look of lifelessness of the girl.

"That's part of it," Kenichi replied as he checked his watch. "Come on, I'll explain on the way."

Yuu and Mami looked at each other for a moment before standing up and following Kenichi out.

* * *

Kyouko sighed as she walked down the path toward her house.

It had not been a good week for her.

Even though she spent all that time studying during the vacation, the exams were still difficult for her. She panicked on each test and forgot nearly everything to the point that the study session might as well have been a waste of time.

Now she just wanted to go to bed and sleep her weekend away.

"I'm home..." she said once she arrived home.

"Welcome back," her mother replied. "Are you done with your exams?"

"Yeah," Kyouko nodded. "I just want to sleep now."

"But what about..."

"I don't want it."

"But..."

Her mother was cut off when the phone started to ring and Kyouko took that opportunity to head to her room and throw herself onto her bed, not even bothering to change.

"At least no school tomorrow..." she sighed as she allowed sleep to take her.

Of course, she was woken up by someone shaking her awake.

"Onee-chan, wake up!"

"What do you want, Momo?"

"Just come on!" Kyouko's younger sister said as she pulled her out of bed.

"I don't want any dinner..." Kyouko began but a powerful tug from the deceptively tiny body yanked her off of the bed and onto her feet.

The younger sister then proceeded to pull her toward the kitchen and dining area, where the lights were strangely off.

"Listen, Momo. I really don't want any dinner-"

But Kyouko was cut off when the lights turned on and a set of loud bangs rang out followed quickly by a set of voices.

"Surprise!"

"Happy birthday!"

Kyouko stared.

At the table was her mom and dad, sure, but also Kenichi, Yuu and Mami, the latter three standing beside her and holding poppers in their hands, the confetti which was now dangling on her head.

On the table was a large birthday cake with the words "Happy Birthday Kyouko" in bright red icing. Beside it were two large buckets of fried chicken and a large plate of sandwiches and several fizzy drinks standing side by side.

Thus Kyouko said the only thing that was on her mind at the time.

* * *

Yuu had been quite surprised when Kenichi asked him and Mami to help him plan a last minute birthday party for Kyouko, especially considering that the other boy had came up with it more or less on the spot.

At first he just wanted to get her a cake, but Mami felt that a party should contain more food and got the sandwiches while Yuu got the chicken. On the way out of school, he spotted Madoka getting ready to leave and asked if she wanted to come along but she had already promised to hang out with her friends and instead gave them money to pay for drinks.

It was all worth it to see the dumbfounded expression on the red-head's face.

"What," Kyouko said blankly.

"See, I told you she forgot," Kenichi said to Miss Sakura.

"So it seems," the woman sighed.

"Don't ignore me!" Kyouko said as she pointed to the food. "What is this?"

"Your birthday party, courtesy of the three of us," Kenichi replied, indicating Yuu, Mami and himself. "Figured you'd forget after all that studying."

"But...how much did this..."

"It's not too bad. Narukami's cousin chipped in too."

"Madoka wanted to come, but she's playing with her friends," Yuu explained. "So she helped pay for the food instead."

"I...I can't..." Kyouko stuttered but her little sister grabbed her hand.

"Come on, Onee-chan!" Momo said. "Let's eat!"

"Yeah, don't waste food, right, Kyouko?" Kenichi asked as he grabbed Kyouko by the shoulders and pushed her into a chair.

"I...I..." Kyouko stuttered again before simply nodding. "Thank you..."

All in all, it was a perfect way to end the exams. Shadows and Persona can wait for another time.

* * *

**Chapter's End Corner**

**Harouki: **Ugh...somehow I feel very...unsatisfied with this chapter.

**Sayaka:** Does it have to do with the fact that you yoinked, Sunny Day Life?

**Harouki**: Maybe, or it may be because I didn't feel up to it. Maybe the next chapter will be better.

**Sayaka**: Maybe, huh? Well, at least I showed up.

**Harouki**: Uh huh. See you next time everybody!


	9. Chapter 9: Our Foggy Future

**Chapter 9: Our Foggy Future**

* * *

Again he found himself in the Velvet Room, with the aria of the soul playing in his ears. Igor and Margaret were there as expected and greeted him appropriately.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor said as usual. "It appears you have reached another stepping stone on your journey, bringing the future ever so closer to your present."

"I guess so..." Yuu nodded, not really understanding Igor as usual.

"It is all right not to understand all will become clearer, in time."

"It seems you have established two new bonds," Margaret spoke up as she opened the book in her hands, allowing two Arcana cards to fall into it. One with a ten-spoke wheel with a sword in the center and one of a woman taming a lion. "The Fortune and Strength Arcana."

As the cards fell into the book, Yuu saw Kenichi's image next to the Fortune Arcana and Kyouko's next to the Strength Arcana.

"The Strength Arcana symbolizes an imagery beyond the Beast And Beauty, and is associated with the morality about the stronger power of self-control, gentleness, courage and virtue over brute force," Igor explained. "It may be up to you to help her in this regard."

Yuu nodded as he thought about Kyouko. The girl was blunt and harsh at times, but she seemed to genuinely care about the people around her. In her own ways of course.

"And the Fortune Arcana, symbolizing luck, fortunes and opportunities," Margaret added. "What goes up will go down, what goes down will go up. This young man will be met with many happenings in the future. Both good and bad for him. But his choices should be his and his alone. Be supportive for him, both on his choices and be there for him should his fortune turn against him."

Yuu nodded again at that. Bad luck seemed to follow Kenichi around wherever he went. Hopefully his luck will turn around soon.

"Now then..." Igor said. "Please take care...until we meet again."

* * *

**Monday, May 11th: Sunny/Cloudy**

It was after class and Yuu found himself back inside the Film Club's old room.

Beside him were Madoka, Mami and Kyouko.

"So...is this like your secret headquarters or something?" Kyouko asked, looking around the clubroom before sweeping her finger along the table, picking up a fine layer of dust. "Seems...abandoned."

"This is just the place we use to go into the TV world when we're not at home," Yuu explained as he held his glasses up to the TV, allowing it to shimmer slightly..

"Going into the TV huh..." Kyouko said as she stared at the object in the corner of the room.

"Yeah, stick your hand in."

Kyouko turned to look at him for a moment before reaching her hand out toward the TV. She stopped just a few centimeters from it before pulling her hand away.

"Why don't one of you guys do it first?" she asked. "Show me how it's done."

"There's no need to be afraid, Kyouko-chan," Madoka said with a smile.

"I-I ain't scared! I just don't know what to do..."

"It is nothing too complicated," Mami said as she walked forward and put her hand through the screen. "Just put your hand through first and then..."

Mami stopped halfway putting her head through the TV before she and all the other girls turned around to see Yuu just standing there. The boy turned around himself, wondering what they were looking at but there was nothing but dusty old boxes behind him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"N-no," Mami replied. "Actually...why don't you go first, Narukami-san?"

"Okay?" Yuu replied, tilting his head to the side before walking up and crossing through the gate.

"Welcome back," came the voice of Kyubey once Yuu was back inside the TV. "It has been approximately fourteen days since your last visit. Have you been well?"

"Yes, thank you," Yuu replied with a nod as Mami and Madoka came through as well. Madoka then reached back through the TV and pulled Kyouko through, much like how Yuu pulled Mami through the first time.

"That was...strange..." Kyouko muttered as she rubbed her arms. She then looked down at Kyubey, who was staring inquisitively back up at her. "So this is the mascot character then?"

"Mascot character?" Kyubey replied. "I'm afraid I do not understand your meaning. My name is Kyubey. I live here."

"Yeah...Sakura Kyouko..." the redhead nodded as gave a quick bow in greeting. "So...is there some sort of...procedure to this?"

"If by 'procedure' you mean the contract, there really isn't anything to it. First summon your persona."

"Summon...right..." Kyouko muttered as she looked back at the others. "Is there some sort of hint for this or do you need to figure this out on your own?"

"It's...an instinctive thing, I suppose?" Mami asked as she looked at Madoka and Yuu who both nodded. "Just try to picture it coming out."

"Right..." Kyouko nodded as she closed her eyes.

The Strength Arcana slowly fell down in front of her as she opened her eyes.

"Persona!" she called out as she held the Arcana over her her head before swinging her arm in a slashing motion across the center. " Kaihime!"

At once, the Red Persona appeared out of the blue flames, landing softly behind Kyouko as the girl turned her head up to look at it.

"Yeah...this is totally cool!" she said with big smile.

"Do you accept the contract to find the cause of the-"

"Yeah, yeah, I do," Kyouko said impatiently, not taking her eyes off of Kaihime. "Let's just do this."

Kyubey simply tilted his head to the side before speaking again.

"Contract established," Kyubey recited mechanically. "Holder: Sakura Kyouko. Terms: With the power to fight Shadows, find out the cause for the unrest. Time limit: None. Power granted: Synchronization with Holder's Persona."

"Synchro!"

Kyouko and her Persona clasped hands as the blue flames surrounded them.

The persona changed back into a card as the blue flames turned red and covered her body in a red light. The lights vanished section by section, creating boots over Kyouko's legs as well as the long dark red and white dress over her uniform with a pink skirt.

Two large cross spears also formed in her hands as she spun them around over her shoulders before bringing them to a stop in front of her with the blades pointed down.

"How's that?" Kyouko shouted as the flames died down.

"Ohh!" Yuu said as he clapped his hands in applause.

"That's a wonderful transformation," Mami said with a smile.

"You look great, Kyouko-chan!" Madoka said as she clapped as well.

"Contract Synchronization Armor has finished forming," Kyubey replied. "Contract is sealed."

"Haha..." Kyouko said as a small blush began forming on her face. Turning down to look at her new clothes to hide her embarrassment she pulled at the sides of her CSA. "Huh...for armor, this is kinda frilly, don't you think? I mean from what little I remember from that day, Yuu's armor is the one that really looks like armor."

"I suppose so...hmm?" Yuu began, holding his chin in thought before turning back towards Kyouko.

"W-what?" Kyouko asked. "Sorry. Was calling you by your first name too much?"

"No...I just think that was the first time you've ever called me by name," Yuu admitted.

"Really? Huh? Now that you mention it..."

"W-well let's put that aside, shall we?" Mami asked with a cough. "Do you want to try and fight some Shadows now, Sakura-san?"

"You get paid for it right?" Kyouko asked, turning her head toward Kyubey.

"Yes," Kyubey nodded. "Each Shadow has a different bounty rate. I will keep track of the total Shadows defeated and offer payment once you leave."

"Then let's get going!" Kyouko said as her clothes returned to normal. "Eh? Uhh...why can't I see anything anymore?"

"Please do not forget to wear your glasses when you are over here," Kyubey said as a pair of glasses floated in front of Kyouko's face. They had a silver frame with a purple tinted lens.

"Ohh...these look pretty cool," Kyouko said as she put them on. "Whoa, the fog's gone..."

"Now...I believe there is a strong Shadow that recently took up residence in the place where Sakura Kyouko was found."

"Is this going to be a pattern?" Yuu asked.

"Who can say," Kyubey replied vaguely. "Shadows converge towards stronger Shadows. I suppose even when the stronger Shadows are destroyed, Shadows will still converge towards them. Shall we get going then?"

"We're going back to _that_ place aren't we?" Madoka asked with a sigh.

"I suppose we are..." Mami nodded.

"Hmm? What place?" Kyouko asked.

* * *

"Ohh...this place..." Kyouko grumbled as she made a face at the interior of the Shadow Church.

"Hopefully we don't have to go through the Sin Rooms again..." Mami muttered.

"Let's just move on," Yuu said as they crossed the barrier into the dungeon and the familiar sight of a path lit up and fenced in by candles greeted them.

"I hate candles," Kyouko said immediately.

"After rescuing you, I am not terribly fond of them either," Mami agreed.

"W-well let's just hurry and do our-urk?" Madoka began as she took a step forward, only for Yuu to grab her by the collar and pull her back just as a pair of heart-tipped arrows landed at her feet.

"Persona! Izanagi!" Yuu shouted as Izanagi burst forward and flew toward the direction that the arrows fired from.

There, Yuu saw two tiny red humanoid creatures with butterfly wings on their backs.

"What...are those...?" Kyouko asked in a deadpan. "Cherubs?"

"Monopolizing Cupid," Kyubey said as Izanagi swung its blade back and forth to deflect the arrows. "They are pretty small so their bounty is two hundred and thirty yen a piece."

"Want to try and fight them, Sakura?" Yuu asked as he turned toward Kyouko who was staring at Persona and the Shadows in awe. "Sakura?"

"Eh?" Kyouko asked with a small start. "O-oh right! Persona! Kaihime!"

As she crushed the Arcana in her hand, the Red Persona flew out of the blue flames and past Izanagi towards the two Shadows.

The Shadows immediately targeted the new Persona which quickly spun one of its spears in front of it, deflecting the arrows with ease as it pulled its second spear back behind its head and with a great swing, cleaved the first Cupid in two before turning toward the second Cupid and driving its spear into its head, causing it to pop unceremoniously.

"All right!" Kyouko said as she pumped her arm as Kaihime descended and landed down behind her and Kyouko immediately turned toward it. "That was awesome! What else can you do?"

"Umm...the Persona can't really talk," Madoka said slowly.

"Really? Well...I guess that makes sense since it doesn't have a mouth. I just thought it could since Kyubey can talk but he doesn't move his mouth."

"Come to think of it..." Mami began as everyone turned toward Kyubey, who up until now had been silently observing them all while on Yuu's shoulders. "Does your mouth not move, Kyubey?"

"It does," Kyubey replied before opening its mouth up and down randomly. "My mouth does move. I simply find that using telepathy is far more efficient than speaking."

"Sounds convenient," Yuu noted. "Shall we move on?"

"You bet!" Kyouko nodded. "I want to see what else I can do!"

"As long as you don't overdo it," Mami said as they ventured further in.

* * *

"I...hate...this...place..." Kyouko panted as the four of them stood outside the "Pride" chamber once more. "I really...hate this place. What kind of food tries eats you instead?"

"Russian?" Madoka asked and Kyouko turned around to glare at her. "I'm sorry. That was a bad joke. And I feel bad for making it."

"A-anyway..." Mami said as she coughed into her hand and turned toward Kyubey while Kyouko pulled on Madoka's cheeks. "This is the place where you sensed the stronger Shadow, correct?"

"Yes," Kyubey nodded. "It's just pass this door."

"We're not going to get a repeat of my Shadow, are we?" Kyouko asked as she released Madoka, allowing the younger girl to rub her stinging cheeks.

"No. It's a different one. It appears to be powerful with a worth of at least four thousand."

"Then let's take it out already! The faster we get outta this place, the better!"

With that, Kyouko threw the door open and ran inside.

Yuu and Mami shared a glance before rushing after the red head with Madoka taking the rear.

When they got there though, they saw something that completely threw them off guard.

"What...is that?" Kyouko asked as she pointed a finger at the large Shadow in front of them.

Compared to the other Shadows, this one actually looked like a mass of shadows. It had something that looked like a pair of handlebars on top of a headlight for a head and two large silver arms extending out of the mass of black shadows making up its main body.

"A Shadow," Yuu replied.

"But the other things were like walking hands and little cherubs!" Kyouko shouted, turning to Yuu while still keeping a finger pointed at the larger "boss" Shadow. "They didn't look like a cross between a kaiju and a bicycle!"

"Isn't it because it is stronger than the others?" Mami asked as she turned to Kyubey.

"Indeed," Kyubey nodded as it turned toward Kyouko. "As I explained to the others, stronger Shadows attract smaller Shadows into itself thus increasing its size and strength."

"No...I don't mean why is it big," Kyouko explained. "I mean why does it look like _that_? I mean everything else looks like it has to deal with the theme of this place...but that thing..."

"Is about to attack," Yuu said as he jumped backwards.

Immediately Mami did the same and Kyouko grabbed Madoka before doing so as several steel balls crashed into the ground where they were just standing at.

""""Persona!""""

Four separate Arcana fell down in front of the group and shattered, releasing Izanagi, Kaihime, Inahime and Kichijoten onto the field.

"Go straight for the face with a Vicious Strike!" Kyouko shouted as Kaihime blazed through the air towards the Shadow's head.

The tip of the spear impacted the Shadow's head for about a second before the Persona was reflected by an invisible force, which also threw Kyouko off of her feet.

"Wha...what the heck was that?" Kyouko asked as she sat back up and looked toward her Persona which had crashed into the ground a little ways off.

"That Shadow seems to be impervious to your physical attacks," Kyubey commented. "Perhaps elemental attacks would work better?"

"Hey, Narukami-san," Mami began.

"What is it?" Yuu asked.

"From the look of things, that Shadow looks to be made of silver, correct?"

"It seems like it."

"Then...don't you think we should try fire or electricity? Silver is a good conductor for them after all."

"Would science even work on a Shadow?"

"It wouldn't hurt to try, would it?"

"Speak for yourself..." Kyouko muttered rubbing her back.

Mami and Yuu looked at Kyouko for a moment before turning to each other and nodding.

"Izanagi!"

"Kichijoten!"

The black and yellow Persona flew back behind their hosts and turned toward the large silver Shadow.

""Zio!""

Kichijoten spun its rifle around and pulled the trigger at the Shadow while Izanagi swung its blade back and held out a clawed hand out at it instead.

Thunderclouds formed above the Shadow causing it to turn its head up to look at it. Then, blue and yellow lightning bolts rained down from the clouds, striking the Shadow, causing it to roar out in pain as it slammed both its gigantic hands onto the ground to brace itself.

"Well...that worked," Kyouko said dumbly as she looked toward Kaihime who turned its helmeted head towards her as well. "I don't suppose you got any fire spells? Seeing as this place was full of candles and you were tossing fireballs like no tomorrow at us when you were a Shadow?"

The Persona answered her question with a simple nod as it stood up straight, causing Kyouko to break into a toothy smile.

"Then let's do this!" she shouted as she pointed at the Shadow with the fire spell's name forming in her head. "Agilao!"

From below the Shadow a spark flashed.

Then the flames roared.

A pillar of fire, not unlike the flames from the candles of the Shadow Church, rose like a geyser, engulfing the Shadow as it let out another anguished roar.

"All right!" Kyouko cheered. "Maybe fire ain't so bad after all!"

The thought of that entered Yuu's mind as well as he saw the Shadow melt behind the flames.

For all of two seconds.

Then for some reason, the single headlight on the Shadow's head seem to light up behind the flames.

"Watch out!" Madoka suddenly shouted.

Yuu and the other girls reacted instantly at the warning and jumped, just as a figure of flaming silver sped past them, screeching as it missed all of them and drifted to a halt.

"Drifted?" Yuu asked, surprised at his own thoughts.

Yes, drifted. What had at first been a mass of shadows with a silver head and a pair of silver arms had completely changed into something that could only be desrcibed as a motorcycle with a pair of arms and...for some unknown reason...a pair of legs.

"What...the..." Kyouko stared at the Shadow's new form with an expression of completely incredulity. An expression mimicked by Yuu and the others as well. "What is...I...how did...I don't even..."

"Kyouko-chan, behind you!" Madoka called out again.

Yuu then saw Kyouko spin around before quickly leaning backward, narrowly avoiding a metal pipe that had been swung at her head by what seemed to be a miniature version of the larger "boss" Shadow.

However, Kyouko lost her balance and fell to the ground, allowing the smaller Shadow to raise another pipe up into the air...

"Hama!"

Only to be stopped as an arrow streaked across the sky, with what seemed to be a paper talisman attached to the end, impacted the blob of darkness between its four orb-like eyes. The talisman shined brightly for a second before exploding like a flash bang, causing the Shadow to disappear in an instant.

Yuu turned toward Madoka to see that sometime earlier she had Synchronized with Inahime and was in her armor with her bow out and pointed at the remains of the Shadow.

"T-thanks for the save," Kyouko gasped raising a hand up to her.

"It appears it has summoned a few minions while we were distracted with its main body," Kyubey noted as several more smaller Shadows began materializing from the ground. "Kaname Madoka's light based skills seem to be the most effective against them."

"Then Madoka," Yuu said, taking quick charge. "We'll leave the smaller ones to you, okay?"

"Y-yes!" Madoka nodded. "Leave it to me!"

Yuu nodded back to her as he turned toward Izanagi.

"Synchro! Izanagi!"

He clasped his Persona's hand and was enveloped in blue flames for a second before they died and encased him in Izanagi's.

Two similar cries of Synchro had also rang out and he saw that both Mami and Kyouko had also synchronized with their Persona.

"Haha, you look like an Ouendan!" Kyouko said with a laugh as she pointed at his outfit. "Though it's strangely fitting..."

She was cut off as the boss Shadow rode past them again.

"Gah you're freaking annoying!" Kyouko shouted. "Agilao!"

Another pillar of fire rose up in the Shadow's path catching it as it passed through.

But unlike before, instead of melting the Shadow, it simply caused the creature to go even faster, leaving large flames in its wake.

"It appears this Shadow can change its attributes with its forms," Kyubey noted as Kyouko let out a yelp and dived away from fire charged Shadow.

"Scratch that!" the red head shouted. "Fire still sucks!"

"Persona!" Yuu shouted, crushing another Arcana in his hands. "Jack Frost!"

The little Snow Jester appeared out of the blue flames with a cackle as it clapped its hands at the flaming silver Shadow, creating a block of ice.

The Shadow crashed through the lice as if it was made of wet tissue paper, but the job was done. It was no longer on fire at least.

"Wait...two Persona?" Kyouko asked. "How come you get two?"

"Narukami-san has a lot more than that," Mami replied as she took aim with her rifle and started shooting at the Shadow.

The yellow bullets streaked across the sky and impacted against the hull of the Shadow.

Yuu braced himself in case they rebounded like Kaihime's spear, but the Shadow instead was forced to make a sharp turn from the impacts of the bullets before spinning around and charging back at them.

"It appears physical attacks work on it now," Mami noted as they dived out of the way again.

"That's more like it!" Kyouko shouted as she spun one of her spears around, creating a wheel of fire around it.

Then with powerful thrust, she streaked across the sky like a missile toward the Shadow.

However, her attack just missed and she crashed into the ground, sending up a ton of gravel and soot.

"Argh...someone hold that thing still!" Kyouko shouted as she wrenched her spear out of the ground.

"Got it," Yuu said as he rushed forward. "Persona! Gabriel!"

Jack Frost shifted back into the Magican Arcana before it spun around and the image of the symbol for infinity over a pair of eyes and fire was replaced by the image of a woman with a crown. The Arcana shattered the green angel appeared in its place.

Yuu and the Persona imposed themselves in front of the Shadow and raised their blades up in unison.

CRASH

The impact of the Shadow knocked the wind out of Yuu but he did his best to hold it steady. Throwing his eyes upward for the briefest of moments he could see sparks flying from the Persona's sword.

Realizing that this wasn't going to work, he dived out of the way at the same time as his Persona, allowing the Shadow to go on unimpeded.

"Synchro! Pale Rider!"

The Fool Arcana shot out of his chest and was replaced by the Pierrot Arcana which he snatched out of the air and pushed back into his chest.

Izanagi's armor vanished and was replaced by a blowing black robe and a skull mask. He was also now riding on a pale blue horse and wielding a long scythe.

"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him."

Yuu turned toward Kyouko who was staring at him with a strange look on her face.

Deciding to ask her about that later, he turned back toward the Shadow as it came back around at him.

"Round Two," he said as he and Gabriel attempted to hold it in place again.

Though Pale Rider was physically stronger than Izanagi and he had a horse to help brace himself, the Shadow was still pushing him back, causing the horse's hooves to carve a path through the ground.

"At this rate..."

"_I've been waiting for you..._"

"Huh?"

It was a voice.

But it didn't come from Kyouko or Mami or Madoka or even Kyubey.

It seemed to come from inside him. From his very soul.

It was Igor's voice. Followed by Margret's.

"_It is time for you to awaken your Wild Card's true power,_" Margret said.

Yuu quickly jumped back as the Pierrot Arcana shot out of him and Gabriel transformed back into the Empress Arcana and stacked on top of each other, putting Yuu back in his school uniform.

"Narukami-san?" Mami asked.

"What are you doing, Yuu-kun?" Madoka called out.

Yuu didn't answer as he swiped his hand across the cards, pushing the Pierrot Arcana to the side causing a line to form between them and blue flames to shine across the area, blowing away all the smaller Shadows and keeping the bigger one at bay.

"What is...this...?" Madoka asked as the girls looked around.

Yuu simply raised his hands up as a fierce wind began blowing across the blue flames, creating a strange sigil behind the two floating behind the two Arcana before swiping his hands across each other.

"Fusion," Yuu said.

A single card remained in front of him. It was neither the Pierrot nor the Empress.

It was the Strength, depicting the picture of a girl with lion beside her.

Yuu then held his hand under the Arcana, allowing it to fall on top of it.

"Persona!" he shouted as he crushed the card in his hands.

The blue flames rose up once more revealing the new Persona.

It stood as tall as the other Persona with two long red horns extending from its head. Its entire body was a deep blood red color save for lighter pink lines that wrapped around its body and dark blowing black hair that reached down to its waist which was wrapped with a black belt.

"Persona! Rakshasa!" Yuu shouted as the Persona shot forward and stopped the Shadow in its tracks, doing alone what Yuu couldn't do with help of another Persona. "Sakura!"

"Hah?" Kyouko asked blankly as she turned her head from the new Persona to Yuu. "O-oh! Right! Assault Dive!"

Kyouko spun her spear around again and charged right at the Shadow.

This time her aim was true. She struck the Shadow like a missile.

Slamming into its outer hull, she managed to force the Shadow out of its form and back into its original mass of blackness.

"Time to finish you off!" Kyouko shouted as she held her spears in a cross formation before slamming them down blade first into the ground. "_**The eternal flames that will engulf all to ash, Ragnarok!**_"

A spark shined below the Shadow for a second before it started to slowly circle around it. The spark's speed became faster and faster until the area below Shadow erupted like a volcano, completely enveloping the shadow, and half the room, in flames.

And there was silence.

"Congratulations," Kyubey said breaking the stillness in the area. "It appears the Shadows of this area have all calmed down. Shall we return to the exit? Although it seems Narukami Yuu may need help in that regard."

"Huh?" Mami asked as she turned toward Yuu...just in time to see the boy fall over face first as his Persona vanished. "Narukami-san!?"

"Oi Yuu!"

"Yuu-kun!"

The girls ran up to Yuu to see that the boy was breathing heavily.

"I'm...tired..." the boy breathed out.

"You'll be fine," Kyouko said, slapping the boy on the back. "Just walk it off."

"Thank goodness," Mami sighed. "But...you did some really reckless things today, Narukami-kun..."

"I...suppose...so..." Yuu agreed as Madoka helped him sit up, being too short to actually help him all the way to his feet.

"So...how much?" Kyouko asked as she turned to Kyubey.

"Today's bounty?" Kyubey asked and Kyouko nodded. "Let's see...counting the larger Shadow and all the other Shadows you all have destroyed today. The total comes to ten thousand."

As Kyubey said that, the circle on his back opened up and four clips of bills shot out of his back and landed in front of all of them.

Kyouko immediately snatched one of them and pulled a bill out, holding it toward one of the candles as if checking its authenticity.

"It's...real?" Kyouko asked.

"Of course. Counterfeit bills do not provide enough of an incentive when those using them can be arrested. It is a waste of time and energy to produce them. I can exchange the amount to a different currency if you wish."

"No, I'm good!" Kyouko said quickly as she grabbed Yuu by the arm and with a heave, pulled him straight up so that he was almost hanging over her shoulders. "Let's go, Yuu!"

"W-wait a moment!" Yuu shouted as Kyouko made a beeline for the exit. "Sakura!"

"Kyouko-chan must really want to get out of here," Madoka noted as she and Mami watched them go in disbelief.

"How nice...Sakura-san..." Mami sighed wistfully.

"Eh?"

* * *

"I'm tired..." Yuu said again as he rubbed his arms.

He was walking home with Madoka by his side.

The girl seemed to be unusually quiet today.

She was keeping her head down and not really paying attention to where she was going.

"Is something wrong?"

"Eh?" Madoka asked, her head suddenly jerking up and turning toward him. "N-no! I'm fine!"

"Are you sure?" Yuu asked.

"Y-yeah! So don't worry about-grk!"

A soft clanging noise rang out in the sunset causing Yuu to wince as Madoka walked face first into a vending machine.

"Uguh...guuu..." came a pained cry from the younger girl.

"Did you...want a drink?" Yuu asked as Madoka slowly fell to the ground.

When Madoka didn't answer, Yuu quickly helped her up and sat her down on a nearby bench before turning to the vending machine to buy a drink.

"Hmm...mostly hot drinks...I guess the chocolate milk will have to do..." Yuu noted as he pressed the button, allowing a small package to fall out before getting a coffee for himself.

Walking back to his cousin, he pressed the milk against the bump on her head, causing Madoka to jerk in surprised before taking the milk form his hands.

"I'm sorry..." she mumbled. "I'm always troubling you aren't I?

"No, not really," Yuu replied. "Is that what you were worried about?"

"Yes..." Madoka admitted. "Today with that big Shadow...I couldn't do anything to it. Even before then...all I did was follow behind you, Mami-san and Kyouko-chan..."

"But you were a big help fighting the boss's smaller Shadows."

"But that was it...! It only seemed to hit those things. The boss just ignored any arrows I shot at it and I kept missing the other Shadows...and...I'm too afraid to get close to them like Mami-san does when she hits them with her rifle...never mind like you and Kyouko-chan..."

"Madoka..."

"I feel like...the three of you could handle it all by yourselves. You don't really need me at all..."

"That's not true," Yuu said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're an important part of the team."

But Madoka didn't look at him and just kept staring at the milk in her hands.

He wasn't really good at this wasn't he.

* * *

**Tuesday, May 19th: Sunny**

"W-whoa..." Kenichi gasped as he stared up at the board.

"You're kidding me..." Kyouko muttered in similar disbelief.

"That's amazing, Narukami-san," Mami said happily.

"Thanks," Yuu replied passively.

The four students were standing at the base of a large notice board that had the placements of all the third year students during the exams. Yuu's overall test scores had earned him tenth of all the third years, leading to both Kenichi's and Kyouko's current disbelief.

"What are you, perfect?" Kyouko asked as she grabbed Yuu and shook him by the shoulders. "Where do you even find the time to study in between all the extra stuff you do?"

"I don't know," Yuu replied. "A few hours before I sleep I guess?"

"Grr...give me some of your brains!"

"Are you a zombie?"

"Okay, that's enough of that," Kenichi said as he pulled Kyouko away from Yuu before the girl tried to bite his head or something. "But seriously, Narukami. Is there some trick to your studying or do you just retain everything in your head?"

"I don't really know."

"Of course you don't..."

"W-well it's good that we all passed, isn't it?" Mami asked as she clapped her hands together. "Should we get back to class now?"

"Ugh...that just means we're getting the actual scores back, aren't we?" Kyouko groaned as her arms fell limp at her side.

"I'm...sure everything will be okay," Mami said earnestly. "Hopefully."

* * *

"And that's all for today," Katou said as he clapped his hands just as the final bell rang. "I'd say that you should go over your tests to make sure you understand what you got wrong but I'm sure those of you who care about that would do it on your own and the rest of you...probably won't so I'll just be going now."

There was some scattered laughter throughout the class as Katou left the room before the usual hustle and bustle of students packing up and or talking with their friends and classmates started up once more.

"See you tomorrow, Narukami-san," Mami said as she and Yuu stood up.

"Yeah, see ya," Yuu nodded as the blonde left first while Yuu finished stuffing his stuff back into his bag before heading out as well, passing by a distraught looking Kyouko staring down at her test papers, or rather only one of them. "That bad?"

"Hey...does this count as failing?" Kyouko asked as she showed Yuu her score. "Does it?"

"It's not a fail," Yuu replied. "But it's not a pass either."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"A vague one."

"I hate you..." Kyouko sighed as she stood up and left the room, with Yuu following behind her. "You heading home with your cuz again?"

"No, I'm heading somewhere right after school," Yuu replied.

"Huh, where?"

"Hospital."

"Hospital?" Kyouko repeated. "Oh, to visit that sick friend of yours?"

"Yeah," Yuu nodded. "What about you?"

"Eh, I gotta head home. My dad's got some hoops to jump through so I think I should be home with the rest of the family."

"Got it. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. And let's try to find more time to make some money, kay?"

Yuu simply shrugged his shoulders as the two of them split off at the gate; Kyouko heading off to the east while Yuu went west.

* * *

"Good afternoon," Yuu said as he knocked and opened the door.

"Oh, Narukami-san," Homura said as she looked up from what seemed to be a laptop that was on a tray propped up over her lap. "Good afternoon."

"That looks new," Yuu said, entering the room and pointing at the laptop.

"Yes," Homura said. "It can't connect to the net, but it's good enough for writing."

"Oh, are you continuing?" Yuu asked as he walked over and peeked over her shoulder. "Eh? Magical Magica? It's not Raijin-ou?"

"I...got inspired to do a...magical girl story..." Homura replied as she pressed the tips of her index fingers together.

"Inspired?"

"I...been having some really strange...dreams I think. About a girl trying to change herself and help the people she cares about."

"And...so it became a Magical Girl story."

"Yes...is that bad?"

"It's fine if that's what you want to do. As long as you focus."

"Sorry..."

Yuu let out a small sigh as he took his usual seat beside her bed.

Yuu tried to visit Homura every Tuesday since the miss date happened a few weeks back. The girl had managed to open up to him a bit more, but the conversations still had a tendency to fall back to its awkward moments as neither of them seemed to be able to express themselves well.

"Oh..." Homura suddenly spoke up. "Did you get your test results back?"

"Yeah," Yuu nodded. "I passed everything."

"Oh! Congratulations. Do you study a lot?"

"About the same as other people, I think."

"Really? I've never been able to do well in studying..."

"Is that right?" Yuu asked.

"Yeah...I just can't seem to get the hang of it," Homura replied. "Ah, can you read this over? I think something sounds off..."

Yuu nodded as he leaned over for a closer look.

With that, the rest of the visit proceeded quietly and peacefully without incident.

* * *

**Wednesday, May 27th: Cloudy**

"_This morning, Assemblyman Mikuni Hisaomi of the *** party was found dead on the rooftop of an apartment building..._"

Madoka dropped her fork in shock and Yuu nearly choked on his toast as the two of them looked up from their breakfast to pay attention to the news.

"_Assemblyman Mikuni had been under suspicion for falsifying fund records and embezzling money a few days ago and so far police are going on the assumption that this is a suicide in a cowardly attempt to escape justice for his crimes._"

"Even if it is, the man just died," Tomohisa sighed as he lowered the volume. "There's no need to drag him down further."

"Y-Yuu-kun let's go earlier today!" Madoka said suddenly as she stood up from the table.

"O-oi, wait a moment Madoka!" Yuu said as he quickly stuffed the rest of his toast in his mouth.

"Have a safe trip you two," Junko said from her newspaper.

"Bye bye!" Tatsuya called after them as they ran out the door.

"Madoka, wait a moment!" Yuu called out to her as they ran up the street toward the school.

"How can I?" Madoka called back. "Someone just died!"

"Madoka!" Yuu said as he managed to catch up to his cousin and grab her by the shoulders. "Calm down. We didn't see anything on the Midnight Channel when it rained on Sunday and the police think it's a suicide so it might not have anything to do with the TV world."

"But we should still check with Kyubey shouldn't we?" Madoka asked back. "He could have fallen in sometime after Sunday! And if it's because we were relying on the Midnight Channel to check..."

"But, it's not like Kyubey is there all the time for us to ask if someone is inside. And either way, there wasn't fog last night. Kyubey said that the world is only dangerous to normal people when the fog appears here and disappears over there, so if Mikuni-san was over there then he would still be alive at this point."

"Oh...right...I forgot about that...sorry..."

"It's fine...just calm down."

Madoka nodded as Yuu released his grip on her.

"I'm sorry...I'm just bothering you again..."

"No, like I said it's fine. It's good that you're taking this seriously."

But, as they continued up the path to the school, Yuu felt like he was forgetting something important.

The feeling lasted all the way until he reached the third floor of the school where someone smacked him on the back, nearly knocking him over.

"Yo, Yuu!" came Kyouko's voice as she pulled him back upright by the scruff of his neck. "Something on your mind?"

"The news," Yuu replied, fixing his collar and rubbing his back.

"News? Ah, the politician who offed himself? Wait...you're not thinking it has to do with _that_ do you?"

"No. it's just that I thought I heard the name somewhere before..."

"Well he did have those campaign posters everywhere at one time didn't he? Can't walk two meters without seeing one."

"I'm not sure..."

As the two of them entered the classroom, Yuu came to an abrupt stop causing Kyouko to bump into him from behind.

"Hey, say something when you're suddenly going to stop!" Kyouko said only to blink as she saw Yuu just staring ahead. "Oi, what's up?"

"No...it's nothing," Yuu lied as he kept an eye on the thing that shocked him as he walked away from Kyouko, who shrugged and headed over to her own seat, while Yuu sat down at his.

It had been a small footnote on that day, but he remembered it now.

Where he heard the name Mikuni before.

From that cake shop Mami took him.

One Mikuni Oriko, who was with the pale and worried looking person who sat in front of him at school.

"Are you okay, Kure?" he asked, causing the girl to jump and wheel around toward him. "You look ill."

"No...I'll be...fine..." Kirika replied as she turned her attention back toward what she was doing, looking down at her phone as if she was waiting for a message or a phone call that wasn't coming.

Most likely she tried to contact Oriko when she heard about her father on the news and the other girl had yet to reply.

Yuu really wanted to ask her about it, but he didn't think it was any of his business.

"Good morning, Narukami-san."

Yuu turned around and saw Mami sit down in her seat.

"Morning," Yuu replied.

"Can we meet in the usual place today?" Mami asked. "I want to ask some questions."

"Yeah. I do too."

* * *

After school, Yuu and the girls entered the TV World again and Kyubey was there waiting for them.

"Welcome back," Kyubey greeted them, its tail swishing left and right as they brushed themselves off. "Are you doing another excursion?"

"No, we wanted to ask you if anyone came in here since we were last here," Yuu replied.

"Other than Sakura Kyouko, no."

"What?" Madoka and Mami asked as they turned toward Kyouko.

"I only looked around!" Kyouko said quickly. "And I only beat the crap out of the Shadows near the entrance. I'm not stupid enough to solo a dungeon at my level!"

"Are you angry because you are not included in the payment if only one you fights?" Kyubey asked as the girls turned toward it.

"No, I'm angry because Sakura-san did something very reckless and dangerous!" Mami said before throwing another glare at Kyouko who let out a nervous laugh as she took a step back from the blonde.

"So to recap," Yuu said, taking back the reins of the conversation. "No one other than the people here have been here."

"That is incorrect," Kyubey replied.

"But...you just said that only Kyouko-chan has been here," Madoka said.

"That was when you asked from the last time you all were here. There was another person who came here shortly before Narukami Yuu made his contract."

"What!"

"Why didn't you tell us such an important thing?" Mami asked.

"Because you didn't ask," Kyubey replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, causing the humans to stare at him in mild exasperation.

"And...what happened to that person?" Yuu asked.

"He was killed by the Shadows and his body disappeared when the fog arrived. I have no idea where it went as my knowledge is mainly restricted to this world. If I had to make a guess, he went back to your world somehow."

"T-then..." Yuu began as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "Can you show us where?"

"Us?" Kyouko asked. "I don't want to go where a guy was found dead. That's a death flag or it might be the entrance to a bonus dungeon!"

"Sakura-san...you are throwing out some very vague terms all of a sudden..." Mami said. "Did you buy a game or something with the money you got?"

"Buy a game?" Kyouko repeated. "Why do that when you can watch people play the game for you on Niconico for free?"

Silence fell between them.

"_She said something very outrageous just then!_"

Was what the other three were thinking.

"W-what?" Kyouko asked.

Yuu really wanted to comment on that out loud but they had more important things to do.

* * *

"Is this it?" Yuu asked.

"Yes," Kyubey nodded. "This was where he was before the Shadows overwhelmed him."

They were at the base of a large water tower.

"H-hey...don't you think the atmosphere is a little...tense?" Kyouko asked. "Even though all the Shadows in the area are those small fry mouth things..."

"A water...tower..." Mami began before she ran toward the railing and looked down.

"W-what is it, Mami-san?" Madoka asked.

"Like I thought...over there!"

Mami pointed toward an office building on the other side of the street.

"Aibara...Moving Company..." Yuu read. "That's..."

"The name of the company _that _person worked at..." Mami said slowly with a nod.

"Umm...what are you talking about?" Kyouko asked.

"Do you know that company, Mami-san?" Madoka asked.

Yuu turned toward Mami as she looked back at him.

"Sorry, I think we're going to head back earlier than usual today," Yuu said. "There are things we need to talk about."

"I understand," Kyubey nodded. "You shouldn't rush to complete your contract. Take things slow and steady with a good plan."

* * *

"So...what's up?" Kyouko asked as the four of them sat down in the school cafeteria with their food.

"The person who was killed there..." Mami began. "I think it was the man who was found dead at the water tower last month."

"The man..." Madoka repeated before her eyes widened in realization. "You really think so?"

"Oh, that guy?" Kyouko said. "Well...it does seem too much to be a coincidence but...why did we need to leave just to talk about it?"

"Because it's safer that way," Yuu replied. "Also...another thing had been bothering me."

"Yes..." Mami nodded. "Just what causes someone to show up on the Midnight Channel and end up inside the TV in the first place? What does the three of us along with that man have in common?"

"I guess the thing about it being the kids in our class doesn't work when an adult is brought into the picture does it?" Kyouko asked as she leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling in thought.

"Is there even a pattern?" Yuu asked. "The Midnight Channel rumor has been going on for a while hasn't it? But even then it didn't seem like people were dying."

"Kyubey did say that it only started happening recently," Mami replied. "Perhaps the people that showed up didn't actually get dragged in back then."

"So we need to find out what exactly makes them show up in the first place...huh? What a pain. What does an old blue-collar worker, a transfer student, an honor student and a kid nun have in common?"

"You all were on TV?" Madoka asked.

"Besides being on the midnight channel," Kyouko said. "We're trying to figure out what-"

"No, not the Midnight Channel!" Madoka clarified raising her hands up. "You all were on the news!"

The others just stared at her.

"I mean...the mover was on since he hit Mami-san's family's car, Yuu-kun was shown because he helped them even if not by name, Mami-san started being shown after the mover died and the reporters showed up, and Kyouko-chan was just shown on recently so I just thought...is it a dumb idea?"

"You're a genius!" Kyouko shouted a bit too loudly, causing several other students to look over in their direction before clamping a hand around her mouth and shrinking back into her seat.

"Certainly, I wouldn't have noticed that connection," Mami nodded. "You're very good at noticing the smaller details, Kaname-san."

"Eh? No...it's just..."

"So we should keep an eye on the news then..." Yuu muttered. "It will also rain tomorrow."

"Bleh...as if people needed another reason to hate reporters..." Kyouko muttered as she took a bite out of her burger. "Bad enough they get in your way if you're 'famous,' now they inadvertently get ya killed too when the fog rolls around. Let's just eat up and go home."

"Yeah...huh?" Yuu nodded before looking over his shoulder.

"Is something the matter?" Mami asked.

"No...I thought someone was looking over here."

"The transfer student sitting at a table with three girls plus my loud blabber mouth, I'd be surprised if someone wasn't," Kyouko mumbled.

"Huh..."

* * *

"Uwah...how horrible..." Tomohisa muttered and Yuu had to agree with him as they watched the news later that night at dinner.

A silver-haired girl was trying to push her way past a bunch of reporters who had surrounded her just to exit her school. However, unlike in Mami's case, no one was trying to help her.

Considering the current events, it was probably due to the fact that no one wanted to get involved with the daughter of a corrupt politician.

"That's not right..." Madoka muttered as the scene cut to the Mikuni household which was covered in graffiti with things like "Tax Thief," "Go Away," and "Die" being the more kinder things written on it.

"Maybe we should stop watching the news during mealtimes..." Tomohisa said as he reached for the remote but Yuu snatched it from under him. "Yuu-kun?"

"It's important to know what happens even if we don't like it," Yuu replied.

"Well, I don't disagree with that but...if you two don't eat your dinner because of it, it'd be better to not watch it at all, don't you think?"

Yuu blinked as he and Madoka looked down at their untouched dinner, having been too caught up in watching the news.

"Ah, sorry Papa," Madoka said quickly as she hastily started eating with Yuu doing the same.

"_Will Madoka's guess be correct?_" Yuu wondered. "_We have no choice but to wait until tomorrow night to check the Midnight Channel._"

* * *

**Thursday, May 28th: Raining**

Yuu looked up at the storm clouds from his window. As the forecast predicted, it looked like it was going to rain all day.

"If only it had started raining before midnight..." Yuu sighed as he closed the curtain to get ready for the day ahead.

* * *

"Hey did ya hear?"

"Course I did."

"What did you expect...?"

The whispering was getting out of hand.

Was what Yuu thought as he scratched the side of his head with his pencil.

It was self study period right now since the math teacher had a sudden errand to run but most of the class seemed to be intent on talking about the news.

"Jeez, it must be nice, talking about things when it doesn't concern them."

Yuu turned toward the voice to see Kyouko sitting down in the empty seat in front of Mami, its original occupant having gotten up to talk to her friends.

"I suppose so," Mami agreed before turning her eyes somewhere else. "In any case, we should definitely check tonight, right? The Midnight Channel."

"Yeah..." Yuu nodded. "Checking to see if that really is the pattern."

"Do we know when the most likely time for the fog to roll in is?"

"Fog usually comes after a lotta rain right?" Kyouko asked. "Then wouldn't it be next Friday? I checked during History and the forecast said it might rain from Tuesday to Thursday next week."

"I should probably say something about that but it's for a good reason so I'll let it slide..." Mami sighed before looking away. "Kure-san are you feeling okay? You look..."

"Like ya gonna die..." Kyouko finished as Yuu turned toward Kirika.

The girl was paler than yesterday. Her hair was unkempt and a bit soaked as if she had forgotten her umbrella causing her to look like she was going to cry.

"Sorry!" she shouted as she abruptly stood up and ran out of the classroom.

"Uh...was that my fault?" Kyouko asked.

"Yes," Mami replied.

"Most likely," Yuu nodded as well, causing Kyouko to slump forward.

"Sorry..."

* * *

"Almost midnight," Yuu muttered as he looked out the window to see that it was still raining before shutting it and turning toward the TV in his room. "If Madoka's guess is right then the one that will show up tonight is..."

The screen fizzled to life, an an extremely clear image showed up showing a girl with green eyes and silver hair wearing a long black robe around her.

"_Good Evening, ladies and gentlemen_," Oriko's Shadow said doing a small curtsy towards the "camera" by grabbing the edges of her robe. "_My name is Mikuni Oriko._"

"_Mikuni really showed up!_" was what Yuu was screaming inside as he paid close attention to the girl in front of him. "And it's another outrageous thing!"

"_Everyone, if I may have a moment of your time,_" The Shadow said as she bowed her head. "_Do you have people you love?_"

"Love?"

"_Family, friends, lovers. Do you have ppeople who you want to protect out of love, even if they abandon you? And have you ever lamented your own powerlessness when you are unable to protect them? I ask you this, because the world is in danger for an entity made of malice is approaching._"

"Does she mean the Shadow world...or the real world?" Yuu wondered.

"_But...I will fight,_" the Shadow declared. "_Against the invaders, against those that will trample on our natural way of life. And so I, Mikuni Oriko, will fight!_"

And with that, the Midnight Channel was over as the TV feed died.

"That was...different..."

A thunderous stomping sounded from the hallway and Yuu turned toward his door just in time to see Madoka burst through the door as usual.

"Yuu-kun!" she shouted, as usual. "That was..."

"Mikuni Oriko," Yuu nodded. "It looks like those who appear on the news, or at least mentioned indirectly on the news show up. Or rather in this case...she's already inside isn't she?"

"T-then we need to save her as soon as possible!" Madoka said, nodding her head as if trying to psyche herself up.

"Yeah," Yuu nodded as well. "Of course."

* * *

**Friday, May 29th: Raining**

"It's still raining out..." Mami said worriedly as she looked out the window from the clubroom.

"Hey...why are you bringing your bag with ya?" Kyouko asked, pointing at Yuu.

"This," Yuu said, opening it up to show the contents. Inside were various snacks and sandwiches and a thermos. "Both you and Tomoe were starving when we found you. This way Mikuni won't be in as a bad position."

"Oh...not a bad idea..." Kyouko nodded as she reached for a chip bag only for Yuu to zip it up. "Tch..."

"But did you really have to bring that with you?" Madoka asked. "Mama's...coffee..."

"It will give her energy," Yuu replied as Mami and Kyouko suddenly looked worried. "Let's go!"

As he stuck his arms into the TV, Yuu realized that they had been lucky up until this moment. Because the clubroom wasn't being used anymore, people wouldn't come around here normally. And because people wouldn't come here normally, when people do come, it definitely looked suspicious.

And so...naturally someone would come and check when they heard voices coming from the room.

"W-what is that!" came a voice at the door, causing them all to turn around and see Kirika Kure standing at the entrance way, gaping with her mouth open and pointing at Yuu's arms.

* * *

Chapter's End Corner

**Harouki**: Hello! It's good to be back in this particular seat with the start of the Kirika/Oriko arc!

**Sayaka**: WHAT ABOUT ME!?

**Harouki**: Still a non-important background character.

**Sayaka**: Grk...

**Harouki**: But still...what to do for Oriko's Shadow. I already have Kirika's planned out as well as her theme, but Oriko is a bit more difficult than that. Sigh...I really have a love-hate relationship with the general Madoka original material. So much depressing stuff. Really makes me want to do a happy end. ANyway, let's keep the ball rolling and try to get another chapter out this month!


	10. Chapter 10: For Another's Happiness

**Chapter 10: For Another's Happiness**

* * *

_She hated the world._

_Or rather, it was more accurate to say that she had no interest in it._

_Things that people did did not interest her and she did not interest them._

_So she kept herself out of sight and out of mind._

_More often then not, people would ignore or forget her presence even if they were sitting right beside her. It was if she had just faded away._

_Except for two people._

"_Is that everything?"_

"_Nice to meet you."_

_Those were their first words to her._

* * *

"W-what is that!?" Kirika shouted as she pointed at Yuu who still had his arms halfway in the TV.

Yuu and the others stared at Kirika for a moment before he pulled his hands out of the TV and hid them behind his back.

"A magic trick," he replied as all the girls turned to stare at him.

"R...That's right!" Kyouko said quickly. "Yuu here's trying to be a street performer! So we're just using this room as a secret practice station for him...ahaha..."

But Kirika wasn't laughing.

"No good?" Yuu and Kyouko asked at the same time.

"You...you know what happened to Oriko don't you?" Kirika asked as she ran and grabbed Mami by her arms. "You know why she appeared on that weird show on the Midnight Channel, right?"

"K-Kure-san, please calm down..." Mami said as she tried to pull Kirika's arms off of her. "...Wait..."

"Did you just say...Midnight Channel?" Madoka asked.

"Kure was the one who told us about it after all," Yuu remembered. "So you watched it?"

"Yes..." Kirika nodded. "Ever since you mentioned seeing something on the TV. I thought it actually worked...even though you said you all saw the same people."

Kirika then turned toward Mami.

"You saw it...?" Mami asked.

"I saw it..." Kirika nodded.

Mami's legs gave out, causing her to fall to the ground and hug her knees as her face turned bright red with tears in her eyes.

"Was her's really that bad?" Kyouko asked as she turned toward Yuu who simply shrugged.

"That's not important right now!" Kirika shouted before making her way toward Yuu instead. "Are you the leader?"

"Leader?" Yuu asked as he looked over at the other girls.

"Works for me," Kyouko shrugged.

"Out of all of us, I think you're the most suited," Madoka nodded as she helped Mami to her feet, the blonde mumbling, "I'm not like that," under her breath over and over.

"What's going on?" Kirika demanded. "Why was Oriko on the Midnight Channel acting like that?"

Yuu opened his mouth to answer but stopped as he looked toward the TV.

"Mikuni is in danger right now," Yuu replied. "We'll explain everything after we save her."

"Save her...so she's really in danger then?"

"Not until the fog appears but she might starve."

"Trust me when is ay that's not a fun thing," Kyouko cut in. "Starving that is."

"In any case," Yuu said as he reached for the TV again. "Please head home for the day and we'll bring Mikuni back safe."

"Wait," Kirika said as she grabbed Yuu's arm. "Take me with you!"

"What?" Kyouko and Mami shouted.

"This isn't a game girl," Kyouko said. "It's dangerous stuff and we've nearly died just training. We can't fight and protect ya at the same time! Well...maybe Yuu can but he's our front line fighter and we'll slow down if he has to hand back!"

"Why do you want to come?" Mami asked, having regained her composure at last.

"Oriko is...Oriko is someone important to me..." Kirika said after barely a moment's hesitation. "I can't just sit back and do nothing!"

"You wouldn't be able to do anything if you came with us either way!" Kyouko rebutted.

"But, Kyubey said that Shadows wouldn't attack anyone 'normal' until the fog disappears, right?" Mami asked Kyouko. "Then there should be no problem in bringing her along."

"Oh come on...you can't be serious Mami-san!"

"What do you think, Narukami-san? You're the 'leader' right?"

Yuu blinked at Mami calling him that as well.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Mami continued. "So there should be no problem, okay?"

"If you say so..." Yuu nodded.

"Ah, do whatever ya want," Kyouko sighed as she stomped her way to the front and climbed on through the TV without pause.

"A...a...what...?" Kirika stammered as she pointed at the TV for a moment before pressing her hand against the screen, only to meet resistance. "How?"

"It's our power," Yuu explained as he stuck his own hand on the TV, allowing both his and Kirika's hands to pass through.

Kirika however, immediately pulled her hand back in shock.

"Changed your mind?"

Kirika looked down at her hand for a moment before shaking her head.

"I'm going!" she replied.

"Got it," Yuu nodded as he climbed all the way through.

"What kept ya," Kyouko asked as she looked at him with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Last minute discussions," Yuu replied, sticking his hand back through the exit, waiting until he felt someone grab it before pulling it back along with Kirika.

"Oh, this is a surprise," came Kyubey's voice as Mami and Madoka came through as well. "So your 'Midnight Channel' has told you of the new person, has it? But who is this?"

"Kure...Kirika..." Kirika replied as she stared at Kyubey with squinted eyes. "What...is this thing?"

"My name is Kyubey. I work here."

"Kyubey is the one who helps us find the people who get trapped in here," Madoka explained as she picked the white animal up in her arms. "He's also the one that helped us master our powers."

"Powers..." Kirika repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"This," Kyouko said, holding her hand out, showing Kirika the spinning Strength Arcana card. "The power of our Persona."

The card shattered and Kaihime came bursting out behind Kyouko in a pillar of blue flame.

"Magic!?" Kirika shouted as she took a step back. "Demon Summoning? What is this?"

"Her reaction is a lot different from yours," Yuu said to Mami and Kyouko.

"Probably cuz we nearly got killed by the Shadows before we really saw any Persona," Kyouko said as Kaihime slowly extended a finger toward Kirika who was leaning back to avoid being touched by it.

"Stop it," Yuu said, tapping Kyouko on the shoulder before flipping his glasses open and placing them over his eyes. "Kyubey. Where is the new area?"

"Of course," Kyubey nodded as it hopped back onto the ground. "Follow me."

* * *

_The first appeared before her when she had dropped her wallet at a convenient store, causing all her money to spill out._

_People just stared at her or just walked passed her as she halfheartedly picked up the coins one by one._

_Then, someone stood in front of her._

_That person, that girl, did not say anything to her. _

_The girl simply looked down at the fallen bills and coins and wordlessly knelt down to pick them up._

_She didn't know what to think and just stared at the girl in front of her that was picking up her change._

_When the girl was done, the two of them stood up and the girl handed her the coins._

"_Is that everything?" the girl asked._

"_Y-yes..." was all she could reply._

_They're first meeting ended when that girl left, but something about that girl had charmed her._

* * *

"Is this...a rose garden?" Mami asked.

They stood in front of a towering silver gate that stood at the entrance way of a large hedge that towered above them. The hedges also had countless red roses on it.

"There's a rose garden behind Oriko's house that she liked a lot," Kirika mentioned with her eyes still squinted. "Maybe that's why...? Wait...why would it be the rose garden from her house here?"

"This world changes to reflect what is inside a person's heart," Kyubey replied. "Perhaps it is because this Mikuni Oriko valued the garden that this world chose to reflect it."

"So that's why mine was the church..." Kyouko muttered before turning toward Mami.

"No," the blonde replied immediately.

"I didn't-"

"No."

"Wha-"

"No."

"Hey what was her's?" Kyouko asked Yuu.

"A place where she could make friends," Yuu replied just as Mami held out a hand to stop him.

"So the school? What's so embarrassing about that?"

"Yes...ahaha...the school..." Mami muttered. "It was just the school..."

Mami blinked and looked down to see Kyubey staring right back up at her.

"Why are you telling a l-" Kyubey began only for Mami to grab him and press him against her chest.

"Well let's get going shall we?" she said a little louder than necessary as she and Kyubey crossed through the entrance first.

"Oi! You're supposed to be looking after the 'normal one' remember!?" Kyouko shouted as they crossed through the gate as well. "Geh...what the crap?"

The "garden" was indeed a rose garden, but instead of the same green shrubs and red flowers as shown on the outside, there were black vines and thorns everywhere with the occasional black rose bud.

"This is...wrong..." Kirika breathed as she took a step forward. "This is wrong!"

"Oi, Kure!" Yuu said reaching out to her only for her to break into a run. "Kure!"

"Kure-san!" Mami called out as well, but Kirika ignored them.

"This is why I told you bringing her here was a bad idea!" Kyouko shouted as the other four chased after Kirika. "You never bring normal people with you on things like this. They just become distractions and...oh crap!"

The four of them slid to a stop as black vines erupted from the ground in the path in front of them, cutting them off from Kirika.

"Kure-san!" Mami shouted only for black smoke to seep out from the black rose buds.

"Shadows!" Madoka shouted as as the smoke turned into liquid and splattered onto the ground before rising up in the form of a pair of humanoid figures underneath a spinning black heart with a red face on it. They looked like a pair of male and female mannequins if it weren't the fact that they were swaying back and forth as if dancing to an unheard tune.

The male half was wearing a white tux and black slacks with the female half wearing a long one piece red dress. The male's left hand was wrapped around the female's body while the other hand was clamped around a long rapier with the female also holding onto it.

"A battle couple?" Yuu asked as the dancing pair moved closer to them, the rapier swaying ominously to their unheard beat.

"Soul Dancer," Kyubey replied. "They rank fairly high at two hundred seventy yen per head."

No sooner had Kyubey spoke, the Dancers lunged forward moving in sync with their partner. The rapier struck at Yuu who quickly pushed Kyouko backward before jerking left and right, back and forth, in order to dodge the strikes before a yellow bullet and a pink arrow flew out from behind him, impacting the two Shadows and pushing them away from him.

"Sorry..." he said as Mami and Madoka ran up in front of him.

"Don't mind," Mami replied as a red blur hopped over them.

"Get outta the way!" Kyouko shouted as she smashed into the floating heart above the Soul Dancer. It let out a strange rickety noise before Kyouko jumped up, just narrowly avoiding the rapier that lashed out below her feet.

The Shadow's heart lifted back up from the ground as the Soul Dancer immediately spun toward Kyouko, who was still in the air.

"Persona! Rakshasa!" Yuu shouted as he crushed the Arcana in his hand, allowing the red demon to burst forward and catch the Shadow's sword in between its own, allowing Kyouko to land back down safely before jumping up again and slashing through the heart with both of her spears, dividing it into four equal sections, causing the bodies to freeze up for a moment before bending backward at the waist where a pink arrow and a yellow bullet destroyed them.

"Umm..." Madoka began as the Shadow dissolved in smoke. "Is it just me, or are the Shadows getting even stronger?"

"Really?" Kyouko asked as she rested her spears on her shoulders. "They go down with the same amount of pain. Cept for maybe the boss ones."

Kyouko then turned her attention toward the black vines and pointed her spear at it.

"_Agilao_!"

A pillar of fire erupted around the vines, turning them to cinders in an instant.

"Now lets go get that idiot before she gets herself killed, or lost," Kyouko said before they continued down the path.

* * *

_She met that girl again._

_Or rather, it was more accurate to say that she saw looked for her everyday since their last meeting._

_She wanted to skip school to look, but her parents threats made short work of that idea._

_Then, one day after school, she found that girl waiting for her train._

_She wanted to call out to her, to pretend it was just a coincidence meeting her again._

_But...what if that girl didn't remember her?_

_Wouldn't it seem strange?_

_What was the point then?_

_Why should she even bother?_

_She should just stand leave it be, and remain in the background._

* * *

"Oriko! Where are you, Oriko?" Kirika called out as she ran through the garden path.

All Kirika could think about was finding Oriko before she got killed.

Although she herself hadn't seen just what was so dangerous about the place, the pitch black roses and vines along with the impossibly thick fog did little to ease her fears.

CLANG

Because she was too preoccupied with her thoughts and was nearly blind in the fog, Kirika was completely unable to avoid smashing into what appeared to be another steel gate like the one at the entrance of the garden.

"Uu...uuu..." she groaned as the gate slowly opened up, with her still implanted onto the gate.

When the gate came to a stop she fell backwards off of it and backed away from the gate as it closed itself again.

"What is this...?" she asked as she slowly stood up.

"_Kirika...my dear Kirika."_

"Oriko? Oriko!" Kirika shouted, looking for the source of her friend's voice.

"_When the scandal came to light, everyone ignored me," the voice continued. "Those who claimed to 'look up to me' suddenly avoided me. Students, teachers, they all shunned me. But Kirika...she stayed. She didn't leave me._"

"Oriko..." Kirika muttered again.

"_Of course I wouldn't leave her_," a voice that Kirika could tell for certain came behind her said, causing the girl to wheel around and squint through the fog only to see a pair of familiar red eyes underneath black hair sneer at her. "_After all, I'm worthless without her._"

"W-what the hell?" Kirika gasped as she took a step back.

"_This world is so boring," her mirror said as it spread its arms outward and took a few steps closer to Kirika. "I hate it all. From hollow conversations that contain nothing but 'yeahs' and 'I know right' to brazenly worthless friendships and love games. All of it is absolutely worthless."_

"Why...how...what's going on?"

"_What's wrong?_" her mirror asked her, the sneer growing larger. "_Afraid that I can read your thoughts? Well, who wants to admit that they are nothing after all._"

"Kure!"

Kirika spun around at the noise, and saw what looked Narukami Yuu riding alongside a giant skeleton on a horse.

"No...don't come over here..." Kirika said as she looked over her shoulder toward her mirror. "Don't..."

* * *

"Another huge Shadow has appeared!" Kyubey shouted. "It's right next to that girl!"

"Persona! Pale Rider!" Yuu shouted as the Persona appeared by his side.

"Wait a minute, Yuu!" Kyouko shouted as the skeletal Persona reached down and pulled Yuu up as it sped down the pathway, only to see the gate slowly close in an attempt to lock him out.

"Kure!" he shouted and the Persona grabbed him by the arm.

Then with a great swing, the Persona threw him underhanded towards the gate.

Yuu felt the wind blow through his ears as he flew through the air.

Though it was more like the sound of a million paper fans smacking his ears instead.

"Make it!" he grunted as his body slipped through the crack in the gate, only to feel a powerful yank just as his head and arms passed through.

Pain.

His right shoulder burned in pain as he fell down to the ground.

Looking to his right, he saw that his bag had been caught in the gate which had pulled him to a rough and painful stop before dropping him to the ground.

"Ow..." he groaned as he rubbed his shoulder.

He'd probably need to get his shoulder checked after this. That and buy a new bag.

"Kure!" Yuu said, remembering just why he did something so dangerous. "Are you okay?"

Of course she wasn't.

The girl had fallen to her knees and was clutching her face in horror.

"No...that's wrong..." she was muttering. "I'm not...nothing..."

"_Why deny it?_" came Kirika's voice came a distant away and Yuu turned toward it to see Kirika's Shadow standing a little ways away, mocking the dark haired girl like the other Shadows had done. "_You're just someone who can't even form their own personality without someone else dictating it to them after all._"

"Not again...!" Yuu said as he held out his hand for the Strength Arcana to fall into his hand and crush it. "Persona! Rakshasa!"

The red Persona burst out towards the Shadow and swung its blade at it, only for the Shadow to duck under it and bat the Persona away with a single hand, also launching Yuu away due to the feedback.

"_You shouldn't interrupt when I'm talking to myself_," the Shadow said as it shook its hand as if flinging dust off of it. "_After all, I know myself best._"

"You're not...you're not..." Kirika muttered.

"Wait...Kure!" Yuu shouted.

"There's no way you're me!"

"Not again!" Yuu cursed as the black smoke began pouring out from the ground and gravitated toward the Shadow.

The Shadow simply sneered as the smoke wrapped around it before exploding, revealing what looked like a large triple bodied mannequin propped on a pair of legs with two giant axes for arms with a red hat on its head.

"_**I am a Shadow, the true self,**_" the Shadow replied as Kirika passed out on the ground. It then turned toward Yuu who stood up and looked up at it in defiance. "_**But I need a new role. How about you one that allows me to be the villain and kill you?**_"

"I'll pass," Yuu said as he held out both hands, allowing The Fool and The Empress Arcana to fall into them. "Syncrho! Izanagi! Persona! Gabriel!"

As Izanagi's armor appeared around him, he sent Gabriel toward Kirika's body while he went after the Shadow itself.

Taking Izanagi's blade with both hands, Yuu swung it at the Shadow, only for it to be stopped by a single one of its axes.

"_**You're moving too fast,**_" the Shadow said as it swatted him aside again. "_**You shouldn't go after the villain until you beat up her minions, right~?**_"

The Shadow was holding it axes up in front of its head and tilting its head to the side as if tyring to make some kind cute pose. Frankly, it was disgusting in Yuu's opinion.

"Yuu-kun, behind you!"

Madoka's warning came not a second too soon.

Yuu quickly spun around, swinging his blade as he did. His blade cut through what seemed to be some kind of giant maggot with large teeth in its sideways mouth. Strangely enough, it too was wearing a little red hat.

"Thanks! Ma..do..ka..." Yuu said before his voice trailed off.

Madoka, Mami and Kyouko were staring at him from the other side of the gate, which suddenly had a bunch of black vines growing out of it while the bars on the gate were glowing red.

Mami's Persona was also healing Kyouko's hand which was bloodied and very red, making Yuu think that she tried to burn the vines off and grabbed onto the gate while it was still hot and the vines instantly grew back, causing her to get burned and pierced at the same time.

Which meant this was the first time since Madoka's Shadow that he would be fighting alone.

"I'm soloing?" he muttered just before leaping to the side as another group of maggots began forming at his feet. "Gabriel!"

The Persona picked Kirika up from the ground in one arm and immediately flew back towards Yuu's side before opening its wings wide out and raising its blade over its head.

"_Mabufula_!"

A cold chill blew through the garden area as all the maggots were frozen in a large block of ice. One of Kirika's Shadow's arms also froze but it simple slammed the arm on the ground to shatter the ice.

"No good huh?" Yuu asked as he swung his blade through the frozen maggot-like Shadows, shattering them before the ice could thaw. "Change! Persona! Pale Rider! Synchro! Rakshasa!"

Flames burst forward as Yuu hopped onto the back of Pale Rider's mount.

The two of them rode forward with the Persona of the Pierrot swinging its scythe toward the Shadow like a Reaper. The Shadow however simply bent backwards like it was going under a limbo bar as the scythe soared harmlessly over its body.

Taking his chance, Yuu hopped off the horse and brought both blades toward the Shadow, only for it to weave to the side and smack him back into Pale Rider, blowing both of them away as the Persona skidded to a stop just in front of the gate.

"Yuu-kun! Areyouokay?" came a high pitched and squeaky voice behind him.

"Whyareyoumovingsoslowfor, Yuu!?"

"Kyubey! Whyisn'tAmritaworking?"

Yuu blinked as he turned around and saw the girls saying something to him but they were talking way too quickly for him to understand.

"Slow down," he said. "I can't understand you."

They stared at him for about half a second before turning toward Kyubey and bombarded it with questions instead.

The white creature tilted its head to the side before turning back toward Yuu.

"Can you understand me, Narukami Yuu?" it asked.

"Yeah."

"Right now, it seems that your body is moving at a fraction of normal speed and are most likely perceiving the world in 'fast forward' if you will. It appears that Tomoe Mami cannot cure you of it and you need another way to return your body back to normal time."

"Youstupidgate! Openup!" Kyouko shouted as she lashed out at the gate at an amazing speed in Yuu's eyes, making it look like her arms and spears were nothing more than a blur.

"Sakura-sanpleasecalmdown!" Mami shouted as she tried to calm the redhead down. She then suddenly pointed her hand at the gate, or rather something behind the gate, and by extension, Yuu.

Yuu spun around as Pale Rider rode forward.

The Shadow had taken its chance to go after the unconscious Kirika.

But even though the Persona was the fastest one in his arsenal, with the slow down effect that the Shadow had apparently cast on him.

He wouldn't make it in time. Kirika would get killed right in front of him.

Faster.

He needed to go faster. He was too slow. He needed something that would make him go faster!

And he saw it.

A new Arcana.

A card depicting a twelve-spoked wheel with a sword planted in the center, taking the position of the twelve o'clock and six o'clock positions with a demon above the wheel and a snake below it.

The Fortune Arcana, symbolizing his bond with Kenichi.

"Change!" He shouted as he crushed the card in his hands, causing Pale Rider to revert back to a card and burst into blue flames. "Persona!"

A black bodied Persona with four golden wings shot out of the blue flames. It had a golden helmet around its head with the face of a clock that had three hands for a face.

"Chronos!"

"Anotherone!?" came Kyouko's voice as Chronos cast a green aura on itself and smashed into the Shaodw, blasting it away from Kirika.

"Kure!" Yuu shouted as he ran over to the girl's body. "Are you okay?"

The dark haired girl slowly started to stir as she turned to look at him.

Immediately her eyes shot open in a mixture of shock and fear.

"Ah..." Yuu said as he realized why, barely a split second before the girl let out a screan.

"GAAAH!" she screamed as she tried pushing his face away. "IT'S AN ONI!"

"Calm down," Yuu said quickly as the CAS disappeared. "It's just me, Narukami Yuu."

"Huh...Narukami-san...what was that just..."

"_**What...was that!?**_" came a roar as Chronos flew back and placed itself between the students and the Shadow. "_**How can you still move so fast?**_"

"What...is that?" Kirika asked as she clung onto Yuu's shirt.

"A Shadow," Yuu replied.

"What's a Shadow?"

"_**I'm you!**_" The Shadow shouted as it swayed back and forth, exuding a dark aura and allowing more maggot Shadows to appear out of the ground. "_**Your worthlessness and incapability of being your own person without someone else telling you how! That is what I am!**_"

Kirika flinched back as if she had been physically struck by the Shadow's words but Yuu place a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think that's a bad thing," he said. "Relying on friends to fill your personality."

"Huh?" Kirika asked as Yuu picked her up in his arms. "Whoa! Wait a minute!"

"Chronos, _Sukukaja_!" Yuu shouted as the Persona cast another green aura around itself before bursting toward the Shadow with a flying kick. The Shadow however quickly raised its axe-like arms in defense. The Persona's foot collided with the axe, doing minimal damage to the Shadow but allowed it to kick off of it without any trouble.

Yuu then used the chance to run back toward the Gate and set her down beside it.

"Look after her while I finish this," Yuu said to the others.

"You're back to normal?" Mami asked.

"For now," Yuu nodded as Chronos landed behind him with one arm across its chest as if it was giving them a respectful bow. Yuu then turned toward his Persona with his hand up. "Synchro! Chronos!"

* * *

_She met him the day he transferred into her class._

_Aside from the fact that he was only planning on staying in the city for a year, there seemed to be nothing particularly notable about him._

_During class he would just stare off into space until he was called or someone around him was._

_He wouldn't speak unless spoken to or unless it was to greet someone he knew._

_Otherwise, he kept to himself as if part of the background._

_But in spite of that, he was completely different than she was._

* * *

A burst of blue fire spiraled around Yuu causing Kirika to shield her face from the light and heat.

When the light died down, the creature that seemed subservient to Yuu was gone and Yuu seemed to be wearing its black body around his own.

The golden helmet was secured firmly around his head as a pair of golden wings exgtended from his back while another pair curved in front of his chest like a vest. His face was still visible though as the clock face was instead planted on his chest.

"Let's go..._Sukukaja_!" he shouted as a green aura wrapped around him with the hands on the clock suddenly moving at a heightened speed.

His wings then spread out as he turned toward the "Shadow" creature and charged it with green wind wrapped around his arms and legs.

"What...what is this?" Kirika asked as Yuu crashed into the Shadow, blowing it backwards for a bit. "Is this some kind of weird dream?"

"Sorry Kure, but this is real life," Kyouko said as she cross her arms over her chest. "And that Yuu is just showing off again. That's what, his seventh Persona now?"

"Sixth, I think," Madoka said, counting off her fingers.

"And this one seems like it can recover from the slow down the Shadow puts on him," Mami noted.

"Why are you all so calm about this? You're fighting giant monsters!"

"That's because Yuu-kun always pulls through in the end," Madoka said with a smile.

"Like he's some Shounen Hero or something," Kyouko sighed.

Meanwhile, Yuu was still fighting the Shadow.

He flew back up into the air before raising both hands above his head, creating a large spinning whirlwind in between them.

"Mag_arudyne!_" he roared as he shot the whirlwind down at the Shadow.

The green winds expanded across the field slaughtering several of the maggot Shadows but Kirika's Shadow easily avoided it by leaping into the air. It then swung its axe arm horizontally at Yuu.

"_Sukuaja!_" Yuu shouted as the green aura surrounded him again.

The speed aura allowed him to just narrowly avoid the swing by planting himself on the side of the axe, letting him ride on the blade as it sliced through the air.

"Persona! Jack Frost!"

The white jester Persona appeared with a laugh as all the maggots around the two of them became encased in a block of ice.

The Shadow snarled as it threw Yuu off of itself and held its arms across its chest just as Yuu noticed felt his body become sluggish again.

In a sharp movement, the Shadow slashed its arms across the air.

"_Sukuaja!_"

Acting as if on instinct, Yuu cast the speed aura back on himself and threw his body back as Jack Frost flew upward.

The air in between them suddenly popped as a sharp pain shot through through his ear followed by a loud ringing noise and liquid dripping down the side of his face.

"That thing's got Wind Blades!" Kyouko shouted as Yuu landed on the ground, holding his hand against the side of his head. "I want wind blades!"

"You use fire though..." Madoka said.

"_Dia!_" Mami shouted as Yuu slowly felt the pain and ringing in his ear fade away. "It's okay, you still have your ear!"

"Sorry about that," Yuu said as he flicked his hand to the side to throw the blood off as green the green aura surrounded him again. "_Sukuaja!_"

"He's back to normal now but that Shadow just keeps slowing him down whenever it gets the chance," Kyouko noted. "Darn it, if we were in there it would be so much faster to beat that thing up. Oi Kure! Is there anyway to open the gate on your side?"

"N-not that I can see..." Kirika shook her head after a quick look at the gate.

"There's got to be something we can do to help!" Madoka said as another powerful burst of wind blew across the field. "If Yuu-kun can just get some kind of edge he might be able...to...win..."

"What's wrong?" Mami asked as Madoka's voice trailed off.

The younger girl was staring down at their feet where Yuu's gym bag was lying with its strap torn and its contents spilled all across the ground.

"Gyaaaah!" Kyouko screamed in horror. "All that food wasted!"

"Isn't there something more important you girls should be worrying about?" Kyubey asked as Kyouko quickly tried to salvage any of the spilled food.

Madoka however, immediately picked up the thermos and opened it up.

"It's still all here..." she muttered.

"What is?" Mami asked.

"Mama's special coffee..."

"You mean that stuff that made Yuu high as a kite?" Kyouko asked, looking up from her arms filled with crushed sandwiches and onigiri.

"Kyouko-chan, please burn the vines again!" Madoka shouted suddenly, causing the older girl to blink in surprise.

"But wouldn't the vines just grow back?"

"It's fine! Please!"

"If you say so..._Agilao_!"

A pillar of fire rose from the gate, causing it to burn red as the vines shrived and turned to ash.

"What now?" Kyouko began as Madoka took a deep breath and grabbed onto the, still burning, bars with one of her hands. "Oi!"

"Gaaaah!" Madoka let out a cry of pain as her hand burned.

"Wait a minute, Kaname-san!" Mami said as she grabbed Madoka's arm. "What are you doing?"

"Let go!" Madoka said sharply, cuasing Mami to release her in surprise. Madoka then quickly thrust her other arm at the gate, the one holding onto the thermos. There was a loud clang, but the thermos made it through the small metal bars. "Take it, Kure-san!"

"O-okay!" Kirika nodded quickly as she took the thermos from Madoka's outstretched hand allowing the pink haired girl to quickly pull her hands away from the gate as the vines grew back.

"You're freaking crazy, ya know that?" Kyouko asked as Mami quickly started healing Madoka's hands. "Does it run in your family or something?"

"Ouchie...that hurt a lot more than I thought it would..." Madoka cried.

"Umm...what do I do with this?" Kirika asked.

"Hurry and give it to Yuu-kun! Owie..."

"Uhh...Narukami-kun!" Kure shouted drawing the boy's attention. "Catch!"

She then tossed the thermos into the air.

Yuu broke off from his engagement with the Shadow and caught it.

He stared at the warm thermos for a moment before his eyes widened in realization.

"I get it!" he nodded as he opened it and looked at the dark liquid for a moment. "Bottoms up..."

Without missing a beat, he started chugging down the bitter warm liquid.

And once again.

The world slowed.

* * *

_The two of them were similar, she could tell that much._

_And yet at the same time, he was completely different from her._

_Although they acted quite the same, he was on another level, as if he had more experience in that regard when it came to switching himself._

_Unlike her, he seemed able to change himself depending on who he was speaking to._

_When with his cousin, he was supportive and urging._

_To the cousin's friends, he was playful and mischievous._

_To their classmates, he was often clueless yet helpful._

_When left alone, he was quiet and respectful._

_To her who could only hold two such personalities, she was in awe as she watched him from afar and noticed how he seemed to befriend those who vanished from school and suddenly came back without much explanation._

_The two of them were the same...yet so very different._

* * *

Kirika stared as Yuu chugged down the coffee.

She felt its heat through the thermos and was surprised that the boy could chug it down like it was nothing before dropping the thermos onto the ground and look around with wide eyes for a moment before his gaze rested on the Shadow creature.

"Got to go fast!" he said quickly as the green aura wrapped around his body. "_Sukuaja!_"

Then he just vanished.

A split second later, a loud roar could be heard as the Shadow was sent flying into the air with Yuu standing at its previous spot with his leg extended up into the sky and a green whirlwind wrapped around his leg.

He vanished again and this time reappeared above the Shadow with another whirlwind around his other leg which he used to kick it straight back down to the ground in a large crash.

Yuu then slowly brought both hands up above his head before spreading them out to his side, allowing two more whirlwinds to form around his arms before disappearing and reappearing above the Shadow.

The Shadow, which was broken and chipped in various places as well as having lost both of its armed, opened its single eye which had been placed on the hat and stared at Yuu in fear.

"_Garudyne!_" he roared as the whirlwinds around his limbs began spinning at rapid speeds, enveloping his body into one giant whirlwind which enveloped the Shadow inside causing it to let out a screech of pain before the whirlwind stopped, causing its body to shatter and for Kirika's mirror to appear out of it and fall to the earth with Yuu landing right beside it.

Then, a creaking noise could be heard behind Kirika.

She turned around and saw that the gate finally opened, allowing the other girls to spill in and rush toward Yuu, save for Kyouko who grabbed Kirika by the arm and pulled her up to her feet.

"You okay?" the red head asked.

"Y-yes..." Kirika nodded.

"Good."

CRACK!

A sharp pain formed in Kirika's cheek as she was suddenly forced off her feet and back to the ground.

"That's for running off on your own and causing us trouble when I specifically told you not to," Kyouko said as she rubbed her fist. "Now get up, apologize to Yuu and face yourself so we can get a move on."

"Face...myself...?"

Kirika turned toward where her mirror had fallen and saw that it was standing up and was staring right at her, along with everyone else.

"Are you okay?" Yuu asked as he straightened himself out.

Kirika wasn't sure how to answer as she turned to the side and looked around aimlessly for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

"It's not a bad thing, I think," Madoka began, scratching her cheek. "Personalities are shaped by what goes on around you. Having friends to help shape your personality is only natural isn't it?"

"No...that's not right..." Kirika said as she shook her head. "It's not that I was ever worried about something like that...I..."

"You wanted someone to pay attention to you, right?" Yuu asked, causing Kirika to turn and look at him in shock.

"Come to think of it..." Mami began. "You never talk to anyone when you're at school...and people rarely talk to you..." She suddenly looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry...even though you sit so close to me..."

"Hey, Ken tries to invite her to lunch every few days," Kyuko pointed out. "But he always asks after you already disappeared."

"Yeah..." Kirika nodded vaguely.

_It wasn't that she hated everyone and everything._

"I was just jealous of everyone..."

_She wanted to change._

"I didn't just want to be some nobody who just sat on the sidelines. I wanted people to notice and pay attention to me, not just Oriko...but it's hard. I tried changing myself to be someone who Oriko would get along with but that was it. I didn't know how to be anything else..."

She met Yuu's eyes and the boy simply shrugged and turned his eyes to the side.

"I don't think there's anything special to it," he said as Madoka. Mami, and Kyouko turned toward him. "Just find out what other people like and move on from there."

"You really are amazing..." Kirika sighed. "I wonder if I can really do that..."

"What are ya talking about?" Kyouko asked.

"Nothing..." Kirika shook her head as she walked towards her Shadow. "You are me...there's no getting around that..."

The Shadow simply smiled as it slowly faded away and took the form of a female Persona dressed in a flowing black kimono with butterfly imprints on it. It's face was blank and white, save for her red left glowing left eye and her black eyepatch over its right eye. Several blades could be seen hanging from her obi as well as a pair of large claws stretching out from other her sleeves.

The Persona then faded away, turning into a card that depicted two dogs howling at the moon around a pool with a lobster in it and two towers in the background. Kirika's strength to face herself has been made manifest, allowing her to obtain the façade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Kicho.

"This...is the power you guys are using?" she asked as she extended her hands out to the card.

"That's right," Mami nodded. "Or rather, one half of it."

"Half?"

"That would be my part," the white creature that had been sitting silently on Madoka's shoulder said as it hopped down in front of Kirika. "I have contracted these four into finding out why the Shadows are agitated in return for the power to Synchronize with their Persona for more power. If you'd like, I can offer the same terms to you."

"If it will help me save Oriko, then I'll do it," Kirika replied and Kyubey nodded its head.

"Then contract established," Kyubey recited mechanically again. "Holder: Kure Kirika. Terms: With the power to fight Shadows, find out the cause for the unrest. Time limit: None. Power granted: Synchronization with Holder's Persona."

"Persona!" Kirika shouted, remembering what Yuu did but instead of crushing the card, she stuck her hand outward and stabbed through the center of the card instead. "Kicho!"

A blue pillar of light blasted through the fog as Kicho appeared and knelt down behind Kirika.

"Synchro!" Kirika shouted as she spun around and placed her hand over the Persona's face. "Kicho!"

A blue flame erupted around Kirika as a black suit wrapped itself around her body with coat tails that went past her knees with an eyepatch over her right eye. The cuffs around her wrists were white and extended far past her hands, hiding them from view as she spun around to face the others while black shoes and white stockings appeared on her legs. She held her arms out in front of her as she pulled down a pair of white gloves that appeared on her hands and allowed a large claw with three long blades to appear.

"I...feel weird..." Kirika muttered as she looked down at her hands, causing the claws to vanish so she wouldn't cut herself. "Not in a bad way...just weird..."

"With those giant ass claws, you look like an assassin," Kyouko said idly, to which Kirika simply tilted her head to the side without comment. "So what do we do? Do you think you can go on, Yuu?"

"Yeah," Yuu nodded as he flexed his hand before placing it on his chest. "Change...Izanagi!"

Chronos's armor disappeared as the Fortune Arcana flew out of his chest and changed into the Fool Arcana and reinserted itself into him, forming Izanagi's armor instead.

"Let's go," Yuu said as he turned toward a new gate that had appeared when he defeated Kirika's Shadow and ran toward it.

The girls nodded and followed him deeper into dungeon, with Kirika giving one last look at the field before turning her back to it.

* * *

They only ran for a few minutes when they came to a large double door gate. Yuu turned toward Kyouko and the girl nodded back at him. The two of them took a door and held their weapons up. Then, with great strength, both of them swung them at the gates, blowing them open before rushing inside with the other three behind them.

There, in the center of the new field was a figure in a long black cloak with their back turned toward them, seemingly unaware of their presence.

"Oriko!?" Kirika asked.

"No that's..." Yuu began as the figure turned around, revealing it to be something that _looked_ like Mikuni Oriko, save for its glowing yellow eyes. "A Shadow."

"_Oh, it looks like those that would destroy this world have come,_" the Shadow said as it raised its head up slightly and looked down at them.

"You...who are you and what did you do with Oriko!?" Kirika demanded.

"_What are you talking about, my dear Kirika?_" the Shadow asked. "_I am Oriko, and Oriko is me._"

"Cut the crap!" Kirika snarled, causing Yuu and the others to look at her in surprise.

"_How vulgar,_" the Shadow sighed as it turned its back toward them again. "_I have nothing to say to villains. I shall have someone else deal with you._"

"Get back here!" Kirika shouted as she ran toward the Shadow only for Yuu and Kyouko tor each out and grab her just as three Soul Dancers appeared out of the ground with two Cupid types floating behind them as Oriko's Shadow disappeared.

"Calm down," Yuu said as he released Kirika. "We'll find her, together."

Kirika looked at him and then at the others, who all nodded at her with encouragement and she nodded back at Yuu as her claws extended out of her sleeves.

The five of them then turned their attention back toward the Shadows before Yuu, Kyouko and Kirka charged straight at them with Madoka and Mami preparing to support them from behind.

* * *

Chapter's End Corner

**Harouki**: Okay...so I missed my set deadline, but at least I got it out!

**Sayaka:** You can't be trusted anymore...

**Harouki**: Now now, no sulking. Anyway, we get a return of the Uber-Coffee which gives a bonus to hit/evasion!...if it was an item in the game. Here it just makes Yuu even more hyperactive with Sukuaja. Now...Chronos isn't actually a Persona you can create/summon in Persona 4 and his design is actually taken from Persona 2. The main reason for this is because the Fortune Persona are all either non-humanoid or dressed in skin tight wool clothing. I did NOT want to put Yuu in one and I didn't want to use Yamato-takeru/Sukuna-Hitona since a Persona that could use Almighty attacks is a bit "overpowered" at this stage so I chose Chronos...since I needed a Wind Persona anyway. Look forward to the next chapter and maybe you can guess what Kichou's abilities/spells will be!

I didn't like this chapter overall, since I realized that I got Kirika's personality COMPLETELY wrong due to not having properly read Puella Magi Oriko Magica recently. Oh well...I'll just have to make the best of it.


	11. Chapter 11: Ever Changing Tomorrow

**Apparently you can click on the story illustration to get a larger version of it to pop up! WHY DID NO ONE EVER TELL ME THIS!? Now everyone can see the little Charlotte with an awesome hat and a cigar in her mouth! So adorable!**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Ever Changing Tomorrow**

* * *

"Get out of the way!" Kirika roared as she clashed with the Soul Dancer on the far right while Yuu took the center and Kyouko took the left.

"Don't overdo it," Yuu said as he eyed the Shadow in front of him.

"She's way into this," Kyouko smirked.

"Hmm...Persona! Rakshasa!" Yuu shouted as he crushed the Strength Arcana with one hand while using his blade to hold down the Shadow's sword with his other hand.

The Persona appeared behind the Shadow, causing the heart to turn toward it, just in time for the persona to bring its dual blades down the middle. The lack of a central control allowed Yuu to overpower the main body and slashed them in half, his blade soaring well above his other Persona's head as the Shadow exploded.

* * *

Kyouko didn't do something as intricate as Yuu did.

The Shadow attempted to skewer Kyouko as she ran up to it. Reacting quickly, Kyouko slammed one of her spears into the ground and vaulted over the shadow and once again smashed her feet into the floating heart above the main body, bringing it to the ground.

She followed it up by spinning her remaining spear over her head and smashing the tip into the heart, grinding it to a mushy pulp before turning back toward the main body and holding her hand out toward it with a grin.

"_Agilao_!" she shouted as she clenched her hand shut, allowing the pillar of fire to burn the rest of the Shadow into nothing.

* * *

Kirika lashed out at the Shadow in front of her. Unlike Yuu's and Kyouko's weapons, her's claws' blades were made of light like Madoka's arrows rather than some form of metal except for the base which were attached to her wrists.

But even if that was the case, the Shadow was still able to block her attacks with its sword.

"I said...get out of the way!" Kirika shouted as she hooked the claws onto the Shadow's sword. She then pulled down on it as she jumped with all her might, allowing her to flip over it in the air.

She looked down on it from the air as her eye started glowing a blood red.

_"____Sukunda!_" she shouted. Immediately, the Shadow's movements slowed to a crawl as it tried to keep Kirika in its line of sight. By the time she landed back on the ground, the Shadow was still looking up in the air.

Without another word, she slammed her claw against the heart and slashed through it into the main bodies, destroying them in one shot.

* * *

"Everyone is so amazing..." Madoka said as Mami shot down the arrows that the cupids were shooting at the forwards while Madoka was trying to shoot down the Cupids.

"You're pretty amazing yourself, Kaname-san," Mami said just as Madoka managed to shoot down one of the Shadows. "I don't think I would have been able to do what you did earlier. Coming up with the idea to use the coffee was ingenious."

"Y-you really think so?" Madoka asked as the forwards regrouped under the remaining Shadow.

Kyouko pointed toward Kirika as she held both of her spears together and held them parallel to the ground. Kirika nodded as she hopped onto the spears.

"Go!" Kyouko shouted as she launched the dark haired girl into the air like a catapult.

The Shadow saw the incoming girl turned projectile and immediately swerved to the right in an attempt to avoid her, only for Kirika to sneer at it.

_"__Sukunda! Gale Slash!__"_

Slashing her claws through the air, Kirika launched a black shock wave towards the Shadow.

When she landed back on the ground, the Shadow started to fall apart before exploding into smoke.

"Everyone is really amazing..." Madoka said again as Kyouko held her hand up to Kirika who looked at it for a second before holding her own hand up, allowing the red head to high five her.

"I'll agree to that point this time," Mami nodded.

"What are you two talking about?" Yuu asked, suddenly appearing beside the girls, causing them to jump back in shock. "Hmm?"

"N-nothing!" Madoka said quickly.

"Don't mind us!" Mami nodded.

"Huh...okay."

* * *

"You all have been doing this dangerous stuff this whole time?" Kirika asked Kyouko as she looked down at her hand which was shaking uncontrollably.

They were continuing down the garden path with Yuu taking point, Kirika and Kyouko were behind them, and Mami and Madoka taking the rear.

"Well, I only started a little while back," Kyouko replied with a shrug. "From what I gathered, Yuu's been at it the longest and then the little pinkie. Even though you're the newbie it really doesn't feel like that, does it?"

"No..." Kirika admitted, clenching her hand. "I feel like I've been doing this forever."

"Okay good, it wasn't just me that felt that..."

"It is part of the contract," Kyubey said as it skillfully hopped from Madoka's shoulder and landed with a small thud on Kirika's. His jump had been off as he slipped just as he landed, causing Kirika to grab him with her hand to keep him from falling onto the ground. "Thank you."

"You're a lot lighter than I thought you'd be," Kirika noted.

"As I was saying, the ability to call upon your Persona appears to be instinctive when you first receive them somehow," Kyubey continued. "The ability to fight in your Contract Synchronization Armor comes with the contract that allows you to Synchronize with your Persona in the first place. You would not last very long as a contractee if you were given a weapon that you had no idea how to wield."

"Please tell me that you didn't learn that from experience," Kyouko said as she made a face.

"Very well. I will not tell you that."

Yuu turned around in curiosity when Kyouko let out a loud groan of frustration.

It was nice that the Kyouko was quickly hitting it off with Kirika, he had no problem with that. But he was quickly feeling left out.

The way things were heading, Oriko would most likely be joining them if she manages to conquer her own Shadow. There was no doubting that she will have to as he found out personally, it was impossible to stop the Human-type Shadows before they turned into their bigger "boss" forms as Kyouko would put it.

Which would make it five girls to his own lonesome.

It wasn't that he had any problems being around the girls, quite the opposite. He enjoyed their company and their various personalities. He simply felt like the odd one out in being the only guy in their little party. Well, there was Kyubey but the creature seemed genderless rather than male or female.

He decided to push the train of thought to the back of his mind though.

There was no point in indirectly wishing for a boy to get pulled into the TV world just so he could have another guy to fight beside.

That would just be silly.

"Everyone, ahead!" Yuu called out suddenly as he saw what looked like another gate in the distance.

They quickly hastened their pace to get there before Oriko's Shadow could force her to say the "forbidden words" when Yuu saw something that would not be healthy for him at the base of the gate.

"Stop!" he shouted quickly as he skidded to a halt.

Due to his abrupt stop, Kirika and Kyouko smacked into his back, pushing him slightly and tipping his balance forward toward what he assumed to be a moat filled with some unknown dark liquid.

His body began to tip forward as his arms flailed around in a panic, trying to regain some sort of balance before he fell in.

"Oh crap!" Kyouko shouted tossing her spears to the side as she and Kirika grabbed onto the back of his coat and pulled.

After about five second that seemed to last a lifetime to Yuu, they managed to get him back on safe ground as he placed a clawed hand over his chest to try and soothe his heart.

"Sorry about that," Kyouko and Kirika apologized in unison.

"Is it strange that that was the only time I seriously thought I was going to die?" he asked with a wry smile, only to be met with an exasperated look from Mami.

"Umm...how are we going to get across?" Madoka asked, looking across the moat.

"That looks like a drawbridge from a castle," Mami noted. "Perhaps there's a lever or something?"

"The path to here was a straight shot," Kyouko said as she turned around to look back down the path they took. "We did turn a few corners but there was only one road."

"I didn't see anything that looked like a lever or a switch either," Kirika muttered as she tilted her head to the side in thought.

"Are we stuck?" Yuu asked.

"Hmm...I have an idea," Mami said, a mischievous smile creeping onto her face. "Please stand back everyone. This might get...noisy."

"Why are you pointing your gun at the bridge?" Madoka asked as everyone took several steps away from the blonde girl.

"If we can't open it...why don't we just blow through it?"

Yellow lightning crackled around her as she took aim at the drawbridge, the smile not leaving her face.

"You're seriously going to do a dungeon bypass!?" Kyouko shouted as storm clouds appeared over the drawbridge, causing the color to drain from her face.

"Fingers in your ears," Yuu said dully before doing so.

Kirika and Kyouko, having not seen Mami's attack before, quickly complied while Madoka simply watched, not quite sure what Mami was planning to do.

_"____**The thunder that reigns in the hearts of mankind, Jinri no Ikazuchi!**_" Mami shouted as she pulled the trigger on her musket.

Lightning exploded around the drawbridge, blasting stone and wood all over, sending it flying into the rose bushes or into the moat. As Yuu had jokingly predicted, it was a lot louder than he remembered. Perhaps it was because the architecture of this world was not supposed to be rearranged so brutally on someone's whim.

"My ears...are dying..." Kyouko groaned.

Yuu turned to the others and saw that Kyouko had fallen on her back and was rolling around, covering her ears with both hands in pain while Kirika had fallen down on her knees and had her head planted on the ground, also with her hands over here ears. Madoka on the other hand was completely still as she still stared in the direction of the former drawbridge.

"Madoka?" he asked gingerly, his own ears ringing from the pain.

When his cousin gave no response, he carefully stepped up to her and waved his hand in front of her face. However, she remained motionless.

"Madoka? Are you all right?" he asked again and tapped the girl on her shoulder. There was the distant sound, similar to that of a door creaking, as Madoka suddenly leaned forward and fell flat on her face, the noise apparently having knocked her out. "Ah..."

"Hmm? What happened everyone?" Mami asked as she turned around to look at them.

"You're...pretty scary...Tomoe-san..." Kirika groaned as she lifted her head up.

"In any case," Kyubey said as it turned toward the destroyed gate. "It would appear that the door is open now. You should be able to make the jump across with little trouble."

"Make the world stop spinning, Mama..." Madoka mumbled as Yuu rolled her over so that her face was facing upward.

* * *

She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself as she lay on the ground and desperately tried to keep her body heat from escaping. Tears streamed from her eyes as they darted back and forth as she tried to make sense of where she was.

Not that her previous location had been any better.

Stuck inside the desecrated home with the entire city shunning her for what her father had done, Mikuni Oriko felt that her life was officially over.

Schoolmates that used to praise and look up to her now mocked her. Teachers that wanted to help with her future now scorned and refused to even meet with her.

And her father, who stole money from the very government he had tricked everyone into believing that he wanted to reform it. And then killed himself, leaving Oriko to deal with all of the fallout herself_._

"_I am all alone in this world."_

Oriko's eyes snapped open.

She was sure she didn't say that part out loud.

Lifting her head up slightly, she saw a pair of armored feet standing just a little bit away from her.

"A...person?" Oriko asked as she sat up.

The person was also covering their body up, in what looked like a dark billowing cloak rather than a blanket like he was. The robe wrapped around her fluidly, almost like it was alive. What was most disturbing however, were the glowing yellow eyes that the person was staring at her with.

A person that wore her face.

"_I was betrayed_," the other person said, causing Oriko to slowly back away from them. "_Everyone betrayed me. I did nothing wrong and yet I am scorned. Why is that? All I wanted to do was make the world a better place. How can that be wrong?_"

The other person's face suddenly twisted into one of rage.

"_But that isn't what I wanted either. I have nothing that I can call my own. My wishes, my future, all of it depended on Father. Without Father, I am nothing but a piece of useless meat with no purpose!"_

"That's..."

A loud explosion suddenly rocked the area, forcing Oriko back onto the ground with her hands over her head while the other girl simply turned toward the direction of the explosion, completely heedless of the rubble and smoke that was blowing through the area.

As the dust began to clear, two people dressed in black clothing landed in the clearing, followed by one in red, and lastly one in pink carried by one in yellow.

"Oriko!"

One of the people in black called out her name. She looked familiar.

* * *

"Do you have her?" Yuu asked as he and Mami lifted Madoka up.

"Yes," Mami nodded as she pulled Madoka's arm around her shoulders.

"Good. Then I'll..."

"Hold on, Kure!" Kyouko suddenly shouted, forcing Yuu to spin around.

Kirika was already making a run start toward the moat. It seemed that she had Oriko in her tunnel vision and now that the girl was so close, she couldn't wait any longer.

"Let's go!" Yuu shouted as he ran past Kyouko and after Kirika.

"Gah! Can't you all wait one second!?" Kyouko shouted, running after them.

"Are you ready, Kaname-san?" Mami asked kindly.

"Yes..." Madoka nodded as they followed after the others, landing in a large cloud of dust.

"Oriko!" Kirika called out as the dust cleared up.

There, they saw one Oriko in black, standing and looking at them as if they were something extremely unpleasant while another Oriko in white was lying on the ground with tears in her eyes.

"You all...are...?" Oriko asked in confusion.

"_You all are still here?_" the Shadow asked dully as it stepped in between Oriko. "_Shouldn't you just hurry on and head home already?_"

"Shut up!" Kirika shouted as she threw her arm to the side. "I'm not leaving here without Oriko! Oriko! It's me! Kirika!"

"Kiri...ka?" Oriko asked. "Is that really you?"

"That's right! We came to get you out of here!"

"_And then?_" the Shadow asked, a small sneer appearing on the Shadow's face. "_You'll take me from this world...and back to 'the real world?' Why would I want that? Back to the world that scorns an innocent girl? One that places the sins of the father onto the daughter? Never!_"

The Shadow raised a hand high above its head and snapped its fingers. Answering to its call, a few of the roses on the side of the walls stretched out and bloomed before opening up like giant mouth with red rose petals for lips and black thorns for teeth.

And then they started speaking...

"_That's Mikuni-san right?_"

"_Top of the class and the student council president...she's so amazing!_"

"_President Mikuni is the pride and joy of our school!_"

"What is this?" Madoka asked as they all looked around.

"Voices?" Mami noted aloud. "Why are they...?"

"_As expected of Mikuni's daughter._"

"_You should work hard not to stain your father's good name._"

"Stop it..." Oriko cried as she covered her head with the blanket. "Stop it...! I don't want to hear it!"

"_You cannot hide yourself form the truth!_" the Shadow shouted, throwing an arm at Oriko's direction. "_These shallow fools who care for nothing but images, who place you on a pedestal of their own making only to tear it all down themselves when you have done nothing wrong!_"

"Stop it!"

"_You know as well as I do that they've never saw us for what we are! We are nothing but the extension of Father! Without him, we are nothing! __**Your life is meaningless! There is NO future for you!**_"

Again, the roses began to speak, with even more mouths forming around them, echoing the words of unknown people as the Shadow's voice became distorted and haunting.

"_Wow, she actually dared to come back to school._"

"_How shameful. Our school's quality has really dropped._"

"_**They betrayed you and distance themselves from you!**_"

"_Didn't you hear me? Sensei will not meet with you._"

"_He can't be associated with the daughter of a corrupt politician, correct?_"

"STOP IT!" Oriko screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Oriko!" Kirika shouted as she took a step forward, only to be cut off as Kyouko waved one of her spears in front of her. "What are you doing?"

"I told you not to just jump on in, didn't I?" Kyouko asked. "Sides' Yuu already showed us that there's nothing to do at this stage."

"But...!"

"Kure-san," Mami added, stepping forward. "Although I may not know anything about Mikuni-san. If you don't let her do this, she'll just keep hurting inside."

"Sides," Kyouko said as she rested both spears on her shoulders. "We just need to kick the Shadow's ass when it goes nuts and it will all be fine."

"_**Oh?**_" the Shadow asked as it glared at them with its right eye while closing the other, making its face look completely distorted. "_**If you believe you can do so...then just try to 'kick my ass!'**_"

The Shadow erupted in a swirling mass of black smoke, causing a great wind to blow around them.

The ground below them started to shake and crack. Suddenly, the area around Oriko shattered, causing the girl to drop slightly before a large pedestal erupted from the ground underneath her, pushing her far up into the sky and far out of reach.

"Oriko!" Kirika shouted again, just as the black smoke stopped swirling, revealing the Shadow's monstrous new form.

It was garbed in the same black robe it was wearing earlier except it was sleeker now and looked more like a swirling black dress that tightly wrapped around its body. It's shoulders were shaped like jagged diamonds that were attached to a bunch of thin black arms that looked like squiggly lines. It's head was also shaped like a diamond with a single closed eye in the center.

"_**I am a Shadow, the true self!**_" it declared as several more pillars rose from the ground with two of them snapping off and started floating around it menacingly. "_**Those who are unable to see their future will lie broken beneath my feet.**_"

"Spread out!" Yuu ordered just as the one of the pillars came down upon them like a hammer of god. The group immediately scattered as the pillar slammed into the ground, shattering it and causing a cloud of dust to erupt into the air, blocking the others from view.

He had to trust that everyone was okay and just focus on the Shadow in front of him.

"Change!" Yuu shouted as he removed the Fool Arcana from his chest, and the Fortune Arcana appeared in his other hand. "Synchro, Chronos! Persona, Izanagi!"

As Chronos's armor appeared around his body and Izanagi formed behind him, Immediately, both of them leaped into the air, just as a second pillar came at them, swinging sideways, allowing them to hitch a ride as it soared through the air and out of the dust cloud.

Once his vision returned to him, Yuu sound dozens of yellow and pink lights flying toward the Shadow with its eye just barely open. However, several pillar immediately positioned themselves in the path of the arrows and bullets.

Then, something strange happened.

Whenever a pillar would be struck by one of the projectiles, it would splinter or shatter in such a way that another part would be launched in the path of another projectile to block that one too.

It happened again and again until both Mami and Madoka stopped firing to stare in shock at the completely unharmed Shadow with debris of various sizes floating in front of it like a shield; constantly shifting as if predicting where the next attack was coming from.

"_Gale Slash!_"

"_Assault Dive!_"

Suddenly, the stone barrier split in two and converge on its left and right side just as what looked like a black wave and a red fireball smashed into it, obliterating the field.

"Oh come on!" Kyouko shouted as she flew through the air, having been blown back by the explosion of her attack. "What does it take to even HIT that thing!?"

"Sakura!" Yuu shouted as Izanagi flew from their perch toward the red head. "To your right!"

"Wha-?"

Kyouko spun around just in time to see one of the pillars being swung at her like a hammer.

Immediately, the girl held her arms up to shield herself, only to find herself wrapped in a powerful grip as Izanagi grabbed her.

BAM!

The pillar slammed into Persona just as it turned its back against it to shield Kyouko from the impact, causing both of them to go flying into the ground as Yuu was nearly knocked off his perch from the feedback he received but held on by smashing his hands into the pillar and ignoring the stinging he was feeling in his back.

"Oww..." he groaned as he pushed himself up only to jerk violently as the pillar came to a stop in the air and start falling back towards the ground. "Uh oh!"

"Narukami-kun!" Kirika's voice "_Sukunda!_"

Immediately, he felt the pillar slow down.

Apparently, Kirika's ability even had the power to affect inanimate objects, but there was no time to be amazed at the destruction of physics.

Yuu quickly pulled his limbs from the pillar and jumped just as the pillar regained its speed and smashed into the ground.

As he fell through the air, his golden wings split open and allowed him to right himself up and hang in the air as Mami and Madoka continued their assault on the Shadow, if only to hold it in place.

"Are you okay?" Kirika asked as she hung from another pillar using a claw as an anchor while Yuu was floating beside her.

"Yeah, thanks," Yuu nodded.

"Got any ideas?" Kirika continued, using her head to indicate the Shadow.

"None," Yuu replied bluntly, watching Kyouko make another attempt to strike at the Shadow, only for it to move its rubble shield in her way before throwing another pillar at the red head, who wasn't able to dodge in time and was forced to simply blow through the pillar instead.

Unfortunately, it also created more rubble for the Shadow to use as a shield.

"It's like it can predict our movements...hmm?"

Yuu looked up and to his right when he thought he saw something flashing within the garden's walls.

"What's wrong?" Kirika asked.

"I thought I saw..." Yuu began before he jerked his head back towards the Shadow. "Look out!"

Kirika wheeled around just in time to see another pillar flying at them.

Her claws vanished, allowing her to drop into Yuu's arms and the two of them rolled through the air as the two pillars smashed into each other.

"Thanks for the...kyaah?!" Kirika shouted, trying to catch her breath, only for Yuu to drop her halfway through her thanks as a pillar smashed into him again. "Narukami-kun!"

Landing painfully on the ground, Yuu bounced and skidded across it for a few feet before finally rolling to a stop on his back. He wondered if the rolling was a lot more painful due to the fact that he had a lot of pointy metal bits that were not meant to be fallen on. Kind of like falling on the keys that you put in the back pocket of your jeans; multiplied by everywhere.

"Are you still alive, Narukami Yuu?" Kyubey asked as it stood over him and looked down on his face. "It would be troublesome to lose an interesting contract as you."

"That's...an interesting way to pit it..." Yuu groaned as he rolled over again and pushed himself up to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"I have kept myself well hidden," Kyubey replied with a nod. "I have also noticed a few abnormalities within the walls of this area."

"Abnormalities?"

"Indeed. It's a Shadow's signature. Specifically the one you are facing right now. Parts of it seem to be positioned in various areas."

Kyubey then jerked its head up.

"It may be a good idea to move a few paces to your left," Kyubey said in a tone that one might use to talk about the weather.

But Yuu got the message.

He wrapped his arm around Kyubey and rolled to his left.

Immediately, several pieces of stone peppered the area he was just at.

Something inside him told him to keep on rolling and to stop for nothing.

His instincts rang true as even more stones continued to follow after him and Kyubey.

"Yuu-kun!" Madoka's voice rang out like music to Yuu's ears as he heard a few explosions ring out shortly after he heard someone land behind him.

Taking a chance, he turned around to see Madoka standing protectively over him and firing countless arrows at the incoming rubble storm.

"Sorry for the trouble..." Yuu grunted as he slowly got to his feet.

"I-it's okay!" Madoka stuttered, desperately trying to keep the volley going lest both of them be riddled with stones.

Yuu nodded as he straightened himself up and looked at Madoka's back.

He then turned down toward his hand and then back up to Madoka.

"This might tickle a bit, Madoka," he said as his hand started glowing green and he placed it against her back. "_Sukuaja!_"

"Eep!" Madoka let out a small gasp of shock at his touch, which transferred the speed Aura to her.

The arrows that flew from her bow, while already numerous and well beyond what a normal person could shoot in such a short amount of time, double in both speed and accuracy.

Before, Madoka was just barely holding back the onslaught, but with the aura, she was able to shoot down nearly every single stone that came their way, forcing the Shadow to halt its attack, lest it run out of stones to use as its shield.

"Wow..." Madoka gasped as she looked at her hands. "Did I do that?"

"Yeah," Yuu nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder. "See? You're awesome."

"Hee hee..."

"If you're finished...I can use some help here!" Kyouko shouted from the other side of the battlefield, causing Madoka to jump and rush over while Yuu remained where he was, looking around at the walls.

"Do you know where they are?" he asked Kyubey, who hopped up to his shoulders.

"If you mean the abnormalities, they are constantly on the move," Kyubey replied. "No doubt they must be an important part of the Shadow. The moment I detect them, they move to a different part of the wall. Like a predator stalking its prey."

"Then we need to move faster," Yuu said, his hand glowing green again. "Hold on tight! _Sukuaja!_"

As the green aura encompassed his body, Yuu's golden wings spread open and he took to the skies.

"Two o'clock position, thirty-five degrees up," Kyubey said as it dug its paws into Yuu's armor in order to keep itself from flying off of him.

"Change! Persona, Jack Frost!"

Izanagi vanished and the Magician Arcana appeared in Yuu's hands before he crushed it, allowing Jack Frost to appear beside him in a torrent of blue flame.

"It's moving," Kyubey said as Yuu looked up.

And he saw it.

A metal object speeding through the vines and thorns.

"_Mabufu!_"

Jack Frost did a flip in the air before pushing its hands towards the object.

Ice shards began forming in front of it and shot toward the object at blinding speed.

A sound of shattering ice told him that at least one of the shards hit its mark.

From the wall, a large diamond shaped crystal shot out, a large crack forming at its base which was also encased in ice.

Immediately, Yuu flew forward with his hand reeled back.

Then with a straight shot, he punched through the crystal, scattering its pieces all across the sky.

There was a loud and pained roar as the Shadow seemed to stiffen up before bending over backwards as it writhed in pain, causing all the debris to come crashing down onto the ground.

"Now!" Kyouko shouted. "_Agilao!_"

"_Zionga!_" Mami shouted as well.

A large yellow lightning bolt struck the Shadow at the same time a pillar of red flames erupted from underneath it.

Taking advantage of the lull in the action, Kirika darted toward the pillar that was keeping Oriko away from the others and jumped.

Once she reached her maximum jump height, she slammed her claws, digging them into the stone. She then pulled one claw out and stretched her hand upward before digging it into the pillar again. Going back and forth with both claws, she began scaling the pillar.

"That girl...!" Mami gasped as she looked up toward Kirika.

"Tomoe!" Yuu called out, causing Mami to turn toward him. "There are crystals in the walls! Probably the Shadow's weak points!"

"Ah...understood!"

"Change! Pale Rider! Persona, Chronos!"

A torrent of blue fire erupted around Yuu along with the sound of a horse's call echoing through the skies as he took on the form of Pale Rider and rode towards Mami, holding out the bottom end of his scythe toward her.

Mami, understand where he was going with it, stretched her hand out and grabbed onto the end of the scythe. Yuu then pulled on his weapon, dragging Mami off the ground and allowed her to land on the back of his horse.

"_**You dare...!?**_" came a blood curling roar as the Shadow stood up straight again, its crystal-like body singed and its cloaked burned. "_**You dare!?**_"

"I think it's mad," Yuu commented as another wave of debris rose up from the ground.

"Perhaps just a little bit...!" Mami nodded, her normally droopy eyes widening as the wave of rocks flew toward them.

"Hold on tight!" Yuu grunted as he spurred the horse into movement. "Chronos! Garudyne!"

The Persona complied with the order, positioning itself in front of the incoming stone wave. Small green whirlwinds began forming around its limbs just before it started rapidly spinning around, creating a giant green whirlwind around it, effectively creating a shield of wind to block the incoming stones.

With the direct threat taking cared of, Yuu spurred his horse into gear, causing the steed to rear on its hind legs before blazing towards the wall where a glint of silver caught his eye.

"Mami, up there!" Yuu shouted, turning his head toward it.

"Up?" Mami asked as she looked up as well. A small gasp told Yuu that she had seen it as well. "I see it! Double Shot!"

Two yellow bullets flew up toward the crystal in quick succession. The first shot missed, only to explode with great force behind the crystal, blasting it out of the garden wall, allowing the second one to strike through and shatter the crystal.

The Shadow let out another roar as it tumbled over in pain.

"Now!" Madoka shouted as she nocked an arrow and pointed it up into the air. "_**The tears of those beyond the endless sky, Arrow Shower!**_"

The air shot into the air and a flash appeared in the sky before dozens of arrows rained down upon the fallen Shadow, turning it into an oversized, metal pincushion as it screeched in pain.

"Nice shot!" Kyouko cheered as she held her spears in a cross formation before slamming them down blade first into the ground. "_**The eternal flames that will engulf all to ash, Ragnarok!**_"

The screeching became even louder, almost like the sound of someone dragging metal nails across a large chalkboard.

"_**...You...You...!**_" the Shadow growled as it shot straight up and leaped out of the exploding flames. Its body was chipped and cracked in several places with flaming arrows protuding out of several areas. Its cloak had long since burned away and its bloodshot eye was wide open and glaring at them. "_**I will...!**_"

"Disappear," Yuu said, holding his scythe in one hand while flipping his other over in a thumbs down.

"_**What?**_" The Shadow asked as its eye started glowing blue slightly before a voice called out. "_**Oh no!**_"

"MA_SUKUNDA!_" Kirika shouted as she released her hold on the pillar, looking down at the Shadow as her eye shined red.

"_**Nooooo...!**_" the Shadow screamed as it looked upward toward Kirika before its voice started slowing down.

"Please die for me!" Kirika demanded. "_**The art of death residing beyond the soul, Kuukan Seihou**_!"

Kirika's claws suddenly tripled in size, making them almost as long as Kirika's entire body. The girl moved her arms back over ahead for a moment before swinging her arms wildly at the Shadow, sending countless black shock waves raining down on the Shadow.

Each blade made a large gash in the Shadow's body. Multiply that by over a dozen, and the Shadow's body crumbled into pieces before it even realized what had happened.

As the dust started to settle, Yuu saw Kirika latch back onto the pillar she had been climbing before Oriko's Shadow reappeared in its humanoid form and fall to the ground.

"Is it over?" Kyouko asked, pulling her spears out of the ground.

"I..." Yuu was about to confirm when the area around them began to shake. "Wha-?"

"This is bad!" Kyubey shouted. "The pillar is collapsing! Hurry and escape!"

"What?" Mami asked as everyone turned toward the pillar where Kirika was holding on for dear life. "Kure-san! Get Mikuni-san and run!"

* * *

"Craaaaaaaaaaap!" Kirika screamed as she hastened her pace up the pillar with her claws. "Sukunda! Hold together a little longer you piece of..."

Almost is if it wanted to spite her, the pillar suddenly snapped near the base, causing it to slowly, but surely fall toward the ground. Not only that, several other sections of the pillar started to crack and break off of the main pillar, causing the top of the pillar to topple over as well, dropping Oriko toward the ground.

"Oriko!" Kirika screamed as she leaped off the pillar as well, diving toward her unconscious friend. The claws on her hands vanished as she quickly closed the distance and wrapped her arms around the silver haired girl.

Only to realize that she had not thought about how she was going to stick the landing.

"HELP!"

"Persona! Gabriel!" came Yuu's cry.

Kirika let out a grunt as something managed to catch them out of the sky.

As she slowly opened her eyes, she found Oriko and herself in the arms of what seemed to be a blue haired angel with green skin.

"We're safe?" Kirika asked as the Persona flew them off toward the others.

"W-what...?" came a groggy mumble to her side.

"Oriko!"

"Kirika? What's...? Huh?

Oriko's eyes were slightly open as she turned to Kirika.

"Kirika...what's going on?" she asked, looking up at the Persona holding them before blinking and looking Kirika over for a moment. "And what on earth are you wearing?"

"Umm...I," Kirika began, holding a finger up as if she was going to begin explaining before letting it droop uselessly at her side. "I got nothing. I think the cat...rabbit...thing...cabbit can explain it better."

"How long...have you been doing something like this?"

"I dunno. What time is it? An hour or two?"

"An..."

Oriko was cut off as Gabriel suddenly vanished, dropping them a few feet toward the ground. Oriko stumbled slightly when she hit the ground but Kirika managed to keep her steady.

"Are you okay, Oriko?"

"I'm..." Oriko began as her eyes looked around, only for them to shoot wide open. She then flinched horribly and attempted to hide herself with Kirika's body.

"Huh?" Kirika asked as she turned to look for herself.

Oriko's Shadow was staring at them in silence. As if it was waiting for something to happen.

"I..." Oriko cried softly as her hands started shaking while grabbing onto Kirika's shirt. "I'm..."

Kirika looked around in a panic. She spotted the others crowding around an exhausted looking Yuu. They wouldn't be able to help Oriko right now.

The only one that can is Kirika and Oriko herself.

"Kirika...what's the point?" Oriko asked as she started sobbing. "What's the point of going back? Back to a world where I am ignored and scorned? What's the point of living if I don't even know the meaning of my life?"

"Shut up!" Kirika shouted, swinging her hand across Oriko's face and slapping her across the cheek.

Oriko's crying face quickly turned into one of shock as she held a hand up to the struck cheek and turned back toward Kirika.

"_What the hell did I just do!?_" Kirika screamed inwardly. "_I hit Oriko! Why am I hitting Oriko!? What the hell am I doing!?_"

She wanted to just crawl in a hole and die. But instead she started speaking.

"Don't say that!" Kirika continued, still not knowing exactly what she was doing. "Don't say stupid things like that you're being ignored or unwanted! I sent you hundreds of texts and tried calling you dozens of times!"

"Even right now! When you were in danger I came to try and save you! I didn't come alone either! My fr...my classmates who did this before were going to try and help you even though they knew nothing about you except for what that stupid news station said about your dad!"

"So please..." Kirika said, her vision slowly becoming hazy and wet. "Don't say things like you're being ignored or that you're not needed..."

"Kirika...?"

"I'm the same..." Kirika said as she buried her face in her hands. "The Kirika you know is just a mask. The real Kirika is just a nobody that can't stand out on her own. Someone that just gets ignored and forgotten about if she does nothing and is afraid of being left behind."

"Kirika...don't say such things..." Oriko began as Kirika felt a hand brush against her cheek.

"I realized it when I came here..." Kirika continued, lowering her hands from her face and stared right into Oriko's eyes. "No...I always knew it and just couldn't admit it. I'm nothing without you, Oriko. If nothing else..._I_ need you...so if Oriko doesn't know what her life means, then I'll help you!" Kirika said. "That's because...that's how I find my life meaningful!"

"_WHAT. THE. FUCK. AM. I. SAYING!?_"

It was if the mask she had created to associate with Oriko was spinning out of control. Even if her words were truth and seemed to be helping Oriko in some way, she did not like how she was suddenly spilling her heart out to her so easily and suddenly.

The next thing she knew, Oriko had pulled her closed to her chest and was hugging her tightly.

"Kirika...!" she cried. "Oh Kirika...thank you...thank you..."

"Oriko?"

"What in the world did I ever do...to deserve someone like you as a friend? Please help me from now on. Always."

Kirika simply smiled and slowly returned the hug.

"You became _my _friend..."

* * *

_She turned around to leave the station._

_There was no need to be here any longer after all._

_All her time spent looking for that girl was all for naught since she couldn't even call out to her._

_What a waste of..._

"_Umm...excuse me?"_

_Her head swirled around at the call._

_That girl was looking at her. She called out to her._

"_Have you seen a wallet around here?" that girl asked her. "I seem to have misplaced mine."_

"_I...I..." she stammered, completely off guard that the other party would talk to her first._

"_Yes?"_

"_I...I'm Kure Kirika! I haven't seen your wallet but let me help you look for it!"_

_She blabbed it out in quick succession, causing that girl to stare at her in shock, which slowly tunrned into a grateful smile._

"_I see. Kure-san is it? My name is Mikuni Oriko. Pleased to meet you."_

* * *

"Persona! Gabriel!" Yuu shouted as he made a crushing motion with his hand, causing Chronos to turn into Gabriel and fly over toward the falling girls.

"Nice catch," Kyouko said to Yuu as Gabriel managed to catch them before they hit the ground.

"Thanks..." he panted as Pale Rider's armor disappeared and he and Mami landed back on the ground, only for Yuu to fall to his knees.

"Narukami-san!" Mami shouted as she and Madoka knelt down beside him. "Are you okay?"

"Oh no, you're so pale!" Madoka added as she placed a hand on his forehead. "You're really burning up too! We need to get you home!"

"Not surprised," Kyouko said calmly. "He had to solo a Shadow after all. Speeding himself up and drinking that crack coffee too. He's probably crashing now."

"Can't...crash..." Yuu panted. "Might drop...them..."

"O-oi, Yuu!"

Yuu's vision became dim as he fell forward. He also felt his connection with Gabriel vanish as he fell into someone's arms.

He dimly thought that due to the lack of _something_ it wasn't Mami who caught him.

He must have voiced a bit of his thoughts, or it showed on his face, because he then felt a sharp pain on the side of his head as someone rammed their knuckles into his skull.

The person who caught him must be Kyouko then.

"Of course it's me you dumb ass!" Kyouko shouted.

"He must really be feeling sick!" Madoka said as he felt another hand brush against his forehead.

"Sick in the head maybe. You're lucky I don't just drop you, you ass!"

"Sorry..." Yuu managed to croak out. "What about...Mikuni?"

The girls turned around, allowing Yuu to see Oriko walk up to her Shadow, a lot calmer than she was earlier. Whatever Kirika had said to her must have worked.

"Even if I may be nothing more than an extension of my father," she began as she looked her Shadow in the eye. "I will find a place for myself, with Kirika by my side. I am not alone."

"_Oriko will work hard,_" the Shadow said with a smile. "_For everyone's sake and bring peace and happiness to the whole country!_"

"Yes...even if my father's methods were wrong, I will find the right path. After all, we are one and the same, are we not?"

The Shadow's smile seemed to grow even bigger as it slowly faded away into blue light and turned into a Persona. The Persona took the form of a pure white woman wearing a tripled layer gown that reached down to its feet. The center piece of the dress was a large transparent sphere with vines and roses decorated on it. Floating around it were three metal spheres with similar decorations on it.

Oriko's strength to face herself has been made manifest, allowing her to obtain the façade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Izumo no Okuni.

"A white rose to compliment a black butterfly," Mami muttered with a smile as Izumo vanished and was replaced by a card with an old woman with a closed book and the number "II" on it and the Arcana slowly floated into Oriko's chest.

Oriko turned towards them with a smile before her legs suddenly buckled underneath her.

"Oriko!" Kirika shouted as she slid toward her to catch her before she hit the ground.

"I'm sorry..." Oriko panted as she looked up toward Kirika. "I'm starting to feel a little dizzy."

"This is going to happen every time, isn't it?" Kyouko asked as she helped Yuu up to his feet while Kirika did the same with Oriko.

"Well, let's hurry and return to the real world," Mami said as she clapped her hands.

"You're..." Oriko began as Kirika walked her over. "From that time at the Cake Shop..."

"Perhaps we should leave the introductions until after we are all safe," Mami said, holding a hand to stop Oriko. "The creatures can come back at anytime."

"Yes...let's..."

* * *

"So what do we do now?" Kyouko asked once they managed to drag both Yuu and Oriko out of the TV.

"Well, I suppose all we can do is head home for now," Mami said as she turned toward Oriko and Kirika. "Though it is getting a bit late. If you don't mind, would you like to stay at my place for the night, Mikuni-san?"

"I...if it's not too much trouble..." Oriko nodded.

"Can I stay too?" Kirika asked immediately as she half supported, half clung onto Oriko.

"Of course. The more the merrier."

"Well, I'll be heading my own way," Kyouko said, picking up her bag from the table and heading toward the door. "Think you can carry Yuu home by yourself, Madoka?"

"Yes," Madoka said, looking just a little decidedly silly trying to support someone over a head taller than she was.

"Is...he going to be okay?" Oriko asked, looking a bit worried for Yuu.

"I'll be fine..." Yuu said, waving his hand. "After some sleep..."

"If you say so...but you r...look...-san?"

"Oi, Yuu!"

Ah, his head was really hurting.

The floor was looking really nice. Maybe it was time to sleep?

"Yuu-kun!"

* * *

Chapter's End Corner!

**Harouki:** Hopefully nothing came across as TOO cheesey...though I think it did. Also...bad shit happens when you overuse your Persona apparently.

**Sayaka**: Is he becoming a Shadow?

**Harouki:** That's not how it works!

**Sayaka:** No one trusts you!

**Harouki**: In any case, it's time to slow the pacing down a bit. It's been dungeon-rest-dungeon-rest-dungeon-rest blah blah blah. There won't be any more dungeons for a while. It's time to work on some social links!


End file.
